


Louise Summon the Last Airbender

by RainEStar3



Series: Louise Summons [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, ゼロの使い魔 | Zero no Tsukaima | The Familiar of Zero
Genre: Comedy, Comedy of Errors, Crack, Crack Crossover, Crack Treated Seriously, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Drama, Fluff and Crack, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Isekai, Misunderstandings, Not-so-secretly Overpowered, Reincarnation, Spirit Aang, Spiritbending & Spiritbenders (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23499208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainEStar3/pseuds/RainEStar3
Summary: Louise Summons Aang, the sole survivor of the Air Nomad genocide, as her familiar. Aang remembered growing old, dying, and watching over the new Avatar, but now he's a kid again and he's been summoned to another world. Louise was looking forward to a powerful familiar, but instead she summoned a young square class mage with a head full of crazy stories.
Series: Louise Summons [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690741
Comments: 59
Kudos: 149





	1. Enter the Avatar

Floating.

Darkness.

Light.

Nonexistent.

Void.

Endless.

The soul of Aang lay floating in the in the Abyss. When Korra, the current Avatar, was separated from Raava, the Avatar spirit, all of her previous lives were disconnected from her. Ten thousand years of reincarnated souls layered one on top of another, all connected by their link to Raava's spirit, gone. The loss left the young Avatar crippled spiritually, but with time, she would recover.

But her story is not what matters now.

Aang, the previous reincarnated soul of the Avatar, was the first to break away when the connection was severed. Barring the one hundred years he spent under ice, he lived a relatively short life of sixty-six years. Even almost twenty years after his death, many of his friends and companions had yet to pass on to the spirit world. As Aang found his soul severed from Raava's spirit and his previous and future incarnations, he willed his spirit to assume the Lotus position. It was the stance he found most comfortable for meditation, but instead of keeping his mind empty, he found himself with a few lingering regrets about his actions in life.

He was not too proud to admit that he had not been the best father to his children. His air-bending son and youngest child, Tenzin, had been given the responsibility to rebuild the Air Nomads and preserve their legacy. This burden gave the young man a distorted view of the world; he struggled to adapt to the changes of the future. And the time Aang spent with him was time taken out of his time with his two older children, Bumi, a non-bender, and Kya, a water bender. While Aang may have saved the world and united the four nations—and helped found a fifth one—he had failed in fatherhood.

His failures weren't just limited to his parenting. He had made crucial decisions in political, social, and military atmospheres. Some choices that he made would have a lasting impact that would reach long after his passing. He had lived long enough to see some of his mistakes, but he knew that time would tell if he truly made the right decisions in his lifetime.

Aang did not know how long is spirit stayed in that place. Seconds, days, months, years, none of it mattered. With no concept of time or space, it was an eternity of nothingness. Despite his spiritual discipline, Aang felt his soul erode. Without a presence in the spirit world or any other spiritual tether, his soul would eventually pass on. Whether to be reincarnated without any memories or to disappear entirely, who could say? Neither option would maintain his presence self, so Aang resolved to maintain his soul for as long as he could.

And so, he remained. His soul fading away layer by layer, until it was little more than a core with a fading fragment shell.

Then, for the first time since his passing, he heard a voice.

"My familiar that exists somewhere in the infinite universe!"

Familiar? What's that?

"My divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant!"

Aang wasn't sure about the servant part, but he thought he came pretty close to the rest of the criteria. Avatars were close to divine, he had pretty good looks—at least, Katara said so—he grew into a good amount of wisdom, and his power was definitely worth mentioning.

"By the power of the pentagon of five elements, head my call!"

Aside from the four normal elements, spiritual energy manipulation—also known as energy bending—was something Aang practiced. That was another requirement checked off.

"I wish from the bottom of my heart."

A heartfelt plea. One of filled with desperation and tinged with a sliver of hope. Aang couldn't ignore someone in trouble. It didn't matter if he was the Avatar or not. Bending, age, power, they were inconsequential. If someone needed help, Aang would help them, it was as simple as that.

"Appear before me!"

Aang snapped out of his meditative state, willing himself to follow the voice that called out to him. As he reached forward, he felt soul come undone, the spiritual protection he had used on his soul were fraying at the seams.

Soon, he would cease to exist.

But if he could help just one more person, it would be worth it.

He stretched out his hand.

There was light.

And then.

Darkness.

Louise Valliere was not a normal noble girl.

Yes, she came from a noble family. In fact, her mother of Karin of the Heavy Wind, a legendary Square Class mage. Her father was a duke, giving her family very close to ties to the royal family. Louise was used to being waited on hand and foot by servants and maids. She studied and followed the teachings of the Church and the Founder, who professed that the magic gifted to mages were proof of their nobility and authority to rule. Like most Tristan nobles of her age, she was a student of the Tristan Magic Academy. Already into her second year of studies, she was well versed in the theoretical aspects of the four elements of magic.

Yes, Louise had many things that made her seem like a normal noble girl. But what she lacked—aside from a developed female body—was something that defined nobility itself.

Magic.

At the Academy, Louise was infamously known as "Louise the Zero" for her lack of spellcasting ability. That was not to say that nothing happened when she tried to cast a spell. Far from it. In fact, evidence of Louise's attempted castings were painfully obvious across the entire academy grounds. Every time Louise channeled her willpower into her wand to cast a spell, a thunderous boom would erupt with a could of smoke. Even the first-year students had become used to the signature sound of Louise's explosions.

While it was first theorized that the explosions were the result of an improperly cast fire spell, that theory was quickly proven false. The explosions lacked the signature heat and flames that would be present in even a botched fire spell. The smoke came from the spell charcoaling whatever was in its epicenter, and then billowing it out with tremendous force. No matter what element of magic Louise attempted, all produced the same element-less explosion. With no way of categorizing Louise's explosions under any of the four categories, her Explosions were deemed not be "true magic", and thus consistent failures of a spell.

Can a mage that cannot cast a single spell truly be called a mage, and by right, a noble? That was the question on everyone's mind regarding the youngest Valliere daughter. While she had the training and studies to be a noble, without anything that could be called an accomplishment in magic, her legitimacy was constantly called into question. Despite the obvious similarities to her family, there were even rumors that she was a bastard child of a commoner, and she had inherited a commoner's lack of magic by blood.

Louise did not want to bring dishonor to her family. While she kept her head held high during her time in the Academy, she always wished that she was able to cast a spell properly. And with the Familiar Summoning Exam coming up, now would probably be her last chance to prove herself.

The entire class of second-year students stood in a loose circle in one of the academy courtyards. Gossip and whispers flittered through the air. Fidgeting of nervousness and excitement alike ran through the crowd of students who were awaiting the start of the exam.

The sole teacher supervising the exam, Professor Colbert, greeted the class, "Good morning, students. As you all are well aware, it is time for the Springtime Familiar Summoning Exam. And while this is called an exam, do not worry, you will succeed no matter what type of familiar you summon."

"The Founder Brimir created this exam for mages to be able to summon the ideal familiar to match their affinity and personality. All you have to do is follow the instructions, concentrate your willpower, and your familiar will appear before. Remember, a familiar is more than a pet, it is a mage's lifelong companion. Treat your familiar well, because you will need to rely on them at one point in your future. Just like when dealing with people, first impressions are everything." After concluding his speech, the balding man adjusted his spectacles. "Who would like to go first?"

One by one the students came forward. Stepping into the ring of their classmates, they uttered the words of the spell and summoned the creature that would be bonded with them for the rest of their life. Some students summoned mundane creatures, such as a cat or a frog. Others summoned more exotic creatures, such as a Bugbear, a creature consisting of a single floating eye, or a Salamander, a fire breathing reptile. But the most impressive summon was certainly a Wind Dragon. Despite being an adolescent, it was larger than all of the other familiars put together. Ironically, it was summoned by the smallest, but most powerful mage in the entire class.

"Well done, Miss d'Orleans," Colbert praised the blue-haired young mage. "A Wind Dragon is a rare a powerful familiar, well befitting your status as a Triangle Class mage. Now, is that everyone?"

"Louise has yet to summon a familiar," A tall, buxom redhead called out.

"Ah, yes, thank you, Mrs. Zerbst. Miss Valliere, please come up and perform the ritual."

Louise, who had been hanging back while her peers summoned their familiars, slowly stepped forward. She moved with the elegant grace of a noble, but her thoughts were far from it. She was gathering all her willpower, holding onto a firm resolution to improve her chances of success as much as possible. And also, to remove the lingering fear and doubt in her mind. Louise knew that her position as a noble had long been called into question. Already, plans were in motion to marry her off. Granted, her fiancé was a kind, gentle noble, but if Louise failed here, she would only exist as an accessory. She would forever be known as the noble who was not a proper mage. In fact, if it wasn't for the high position of her family and fiancé, she would become a disgraced noble.

But Louise did not want to live by the safety net her family provided her. She wanted to be a mage, a noble in her own right. She had to complete this spell. If there was one spell she needed to cast properly, it was the one to summon a familiar. And perhaps, her familiar would give insight as to what element she was supposed to wield.

Needless to say, this exam was the most important test of Louise's life.

She had everything to gain.

And everything to lose.

Louise took a deep calming breath as she raised her wand. "My familiar that exist somewhere in this vast universe!"

"What kind of spell is that?" asked Montogomery, a blond-haired girl holding a frog.

"Whatever it is, it's original, that's for sure," Guiche, a curly haired blond replied. A large mole nuzzled his calf.

"My divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant, by the power of the pentagon of five elements, head my call!"

Tabitha d'Orleans peered over the small book she had been reading for most of the ceremony, curious about the improvised spell.

"I wish and assert from the very bottom of my heart, appear!"

The familiar sound of a large explosion ripped through the Academy grounds. A cloud of ashless smoke seeped through the air.

"Looks like the Zero failed again."

"Maybe an explosion is her familiar! It would fit her attitude."

"No way is she going to be allowed to stay in the academy."

Louise clenched her hands to the side as she peered into the cloud desperately. Hoping, wishing, praying that she had actually managed to summon a familiar, that she would redeem herself in the eyes of her classmates, teachers, and family. But as the cloud started to die away, she could see no figure standing in the magic circle.

She gripped her wand until her knuckles turned white. Keeping her head down, she turned to professor Colbert. "Can I have one more try?" she asked, no, pleaded him.

The bespectacled professor sighed as he shook his head. "The Spring Familiar Summoning Ceremony is a requirement for second years," he said regretfully. "And it appears you are unable to cast the spell properly."

Louise kept her head down, fighting back tears of shame. A Valliere did not cry, she told herself. As disgraced as she was, she would not bring any more dishonor to her family. She would take her failure—and expected expulsion—with dignity.

"Don't worry," Professor Colbert assured her. "I'm sure that your parents—" His voice cut off abruptly, prompting Louise to raise her eyes and catch her professor's slack-jawed expression. The whispers of her classmates changed from jeering to confusion, with several of them pointing at the thoroughly ruined summoning circle.

Louise slowly turned around, unwilling to get her hopes up. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a young boy lying on his back in the center of the circle. His body was covered in ash and dust, but he looked to be about thirteen years old. He wore baggy pants and a shirt that was covered by a short mantle or shawl. In his partially clenched hand lay a simple but well-cut staff. Given that he was lying in the center of where her spell had been cast, Louise would suspect he was dead if it wasn't for the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Her legs carried her to the boy's side as Louise took a closer look. He was scrawny, and seemed to be sleeping peacefully despite what had just occurred. "Professor?" she asked hesitantly, alternating her gaze between the boy and her professor.

Professor Colbert scratched the side of his head in thought. "Well, it looks like you did someone a familiar after all," he said.

"Louise summoned a commoner boy?"

"Yeah, right, she probably paid him to stand in there and got knocked out in the blast."

Louise bristled, but did not respond to the new, barely whispered rumors. "Does a commoner count as a familiar?" she asked, a sliver of hope entering her voice.

"I suppose it does," Professor Colbert replied. His puzzled gaze glanced over the boy, but he gave a nod to Louise. "Go on now, complete the ceremony."

Louise hesitated as she looked down at the sleeping boy. "You are extremely lucky that I summoned you," she whispered to the sleeping boy as she leaned forward. "Normally, I would never lower myself like this." She closed her eyes as she gave him a quick peck on the lip, sealing the contract.

That's when something unexpected happened.

"He's glowing!" someone yelled.

Louise's eyes snapped open as she looked at her new familiar. Sure enough, an icy blue, almost white, glow illuminated his hands and head. The glow was shaped like an arrow that ran from his forehead over his bald scalp down to somewhere on his back. Similar arrows marked the backs of his hands, with the arrows' trails leading up the long sleeves of his oddly designed shirt. On his left hand, the one not holding the staff, blinding white symbols burned themselves into his skin. As if in response, the glow of the arrow markings intensified, causing several students to shield their eyes to avoid being blinded.

Louise, being the closest to her familiar, was startled by the sudden surge of brightness. She backpedaled away in such a hurry that she ended up tripping over the hem of her robe. She watched with an open mouth as a strong wind circled around her familiar, raising the limp, glowing boy several feet into the air. The winds carried away most of the dirt and grime that covered his body and clothes. His shirt and pants were yellow. An orange sash was tied around his waist, and the short mantle he wore shared that color, along with bindings on the elbows and wrists of his shirt. Brown leggings ran all the way down to his feet, where they ended in darker brown unusual footwear.

But Louise's attention was snapped away from her familiar's unusual appearance as the boy's eyes slowly began to open. Brilliant white light poured out, and with it, a feeling of overwhelming awe overcame her. Those eyes seemed to carry the wisdom and power of someone far older than his body suggested.

"Get back, Miss Valliere!" Professor Colbert shouted. He stepped forward and raised his staff towards the floating familiar. The man had seen many things in his life, but this was the first time he found himself in a presence that seemed to transcend humanity. "Move away to safety!"

Louise couldn't even Colbert over the sound of the rushing wind. She was terrified, but at the same time, fascinated by the appearance of her familiar. As those eyes stared into her, Louise felt overwhelmed, but strangely, at peace. With eyes glazed as if in a trance, she raised her hand towards the body…

Only for the glowing to immediately stop and the boy to crash to the ground.

There was a hush that lasted for several moments, but eventually, the surrounding students managed to catch their breath.

"What was that?"

"How did the Zero use magic like that?"

"That wasn't her, it was her familiar!"

"Is her familiar a mage?"

"No mage glows like that, and his stick isn't even a wand."

"Are you sure?"

"Miss Valliere, are you unharmed?" Professor Colbert asked as he approached. He kept a fraction of his attention focused on the boy, who seemed to be stirring into consciousness.

"I am," she affirmed in a shaky breath. "I was just surprised, that's all."

A groan pulled Louise's attention to the boy she had summoned. He pulled himself up to a sitting position, blinking rapidly as he tried to adjust his eyes to what he was seeing.

Louise stood to her feet and brushed some stray dirt of her robes. Of course, it did nothing to help the fact that her entire outfit would have to be thoroughly washed—one cannot stand next to a windstorm without consequence—but first impressions were everything. "Familiar," she declared. "I am Louise Francoise de Blanc de la Valliere. From today onwards, I will be your master, understood?"

The boy looked at her blankly, then smiled. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then scrunched up his face as his nose wiggled.

"Don't make rude faces at me!" Louise said sternly.

Her familiar's mouth opened wider as he scrunched up his eyes.

"Listen well. I am your master and you will act like the obedient familiar you should be! Do you hear me?"

"ACHOO!"

And that was the second explosion of the morning.


	2. Mistaken Mage

After witnessing Aang's gargantuan sneeze—which was somehow louder than the explosion Louise had summoned him with—Louise had quickly taken her new familiar by the arm and dragged him to her room. While she had managed to avoid failing the exam, she now had another problem to deal with. Whoever her familiar was, he wasn't an oddly dressed commoner. If the glowing tattoos and eyes weren't enough, that sneeze sealed the deal. After all, no commoner's sneeze could send them flying twenty feet in the air only to land lightly on their feet.

But Louise had never heard of a wind mage using such a ridiculous spell. Who would even design something as impractical and unbecoming as a sneezing spell? A child, possibly. And if this boy was a noble, as Louise suspected he was, she could be found guilty of kidnapping. Founder forbid, if he was from another country, as his appearance seemed to indicate, then there could be political problems on the national level.

Louise needed answers, and she wanted them fast.

"Who are you?" Louise asked the second she had none to gently slammed the door closed.

Despite being dragged around for the past two minutes, her familiar still had a bright smile on his face. "Hi! My name's Aang!" came the cheerful reply. "What's yours?"

"I am Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière," Louise replied primly. "And that does not answer my question."

"It doesn't?"

Louise thought that Aang was mocking her, but upon looking at his cluelessly innocent expression, she clarified, "How did you do that? The light from your weird markings. The wind. Your sneeze! Explain yourself!"

Aang gave her a confused look. "You haven't seen air bending before?" he asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

"Air bending?" Louise echoed.

"Hm… how should I explain it?" Aang wondered aloud. This was situation he was not prepared for. Louise not knowing about airbending meant that rather the current airbenders were reclusive, or she was a sheltered non-bender. Given that Aang wasn't sure where or when he was, both cases were plausible.

In the end, Aang decided to give simplest explanation possible and see what Louise-with-the-very-long-name could understand. "Air bending is using the flow of your body to control one of the four elements. In this case, air."

"You don't use your body to control the elements," Louise scoffed. "You use your willpower and a foci, like your staff." Louise paused, her eyes examining Aang's attire and staff. "You are a wind mage, correct?"

"Airbender," Aang corrected. "Never heard of a mage before. What are they?"

"Do you use magic?" Louise clarified.

Aang considered the question for a moment. He did remember hearing somewhere that magic was relative to what was considered impossible, or something like that. It was a philosophical statement, which wasn't helpful amount at the moment. "Depends on what you call magic, I guess," he answered thoughtfully.

"It's a simple yes or no question," Louise deadpanned.

"Not to me," Aang replied good-naturedly.

Louise grumbled under breath, but Aang could clearly hear her say, "Stupid cheeky familiar." The pinkette took a deep breath in and released it slowly. Seeing that Aang was clueless, she opted for a more direct approach. "Did you cause the winds when you… sneezed?"

"Sure did," Aang admitted proudly. "But I can do other things too. Watch this!" To prove it, he jumped into the air and formed a sphere of wind below him. Sitting cross-legged on the intangible ball, he zipped it around the narrow confines of the room, narrowly avoiding the pile of hay lying against the wall. "This is my air scooter. I invented it!"

Louise's naturally pale face went as white as a sheet. "You're a mage," she said, her words barely more than a whisper.

"If you see say so," Aang replied with a shrug. Then he noticed that Louise was trembling. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern. "Do you need a healer?"

"If you're a mage, then you're a noble," Louise continued as if she couldn't hear him.

"I mean, technically?" Aang felt like he was missing some memories, but he recalled being a part of some government council. A United Republic? Where was that anyway? It wasn't one of the four nations, but he felt like it was a country. He mentally shrugged. If he couldn't remember it clearly, it probably wasn't important.

"I kidnapped a noble and turned him into a familiar,"

"Well, maybe a little?" Aang was pretty sure he was an adult before, but his body looked like it had reverted back to his twelve or thirteen-year-old self. Did it still count as kidnapping if he was a reincarnated soul? Was he really reincarnated? How exactly did he end up this way? And what was that last word Louise used?

"Wait, what's a familiar?" Aang asked.

Louise paused her tirade to give him an oddly confused look. "A familiar is a mage's companion," she said slowly, as if speaking to a child. Which, to be fair, Aang did appear to be. "They normally match their master's affinity and perform various tasks for their master. Some of the larger or stronger ones serve as mounts or protectors." Since she had summoned a wind mage, that probably meant she was one too, just like her mother. Ordinarily, such a revelation would have her jumping for joy—in the privacy of her own room, of course—but right now, that information did nothing to help her situation.

Aang, unaware of Louise's depressed thoughts, grinned as a light clicked on in his head. "So, Appa!"

"Appa?"

"That's the name of my sky bison," Aang replied. "He's been my friend for years! But I haven't seen him in—huh, I don't remember. It's been awhile. He's probably in the Spirit World right now."

"Spirit World?"

"Yeah, that's where I used to be. And then something happened with the current Avatar and the Avatar connection was severed. I went into a dark place, stayed there for a long time, and I heard a voice calling me. I followed it, found a glowing light, and then I was here." Aang finally noticed that Louise was staring at him in complete bewilderment. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Did I damage your head when I summoned you?" she asked seriously.

"I dunno," Aang replied with a casual shrug. "My soul was pretty eroded before I got here, so whatever you did couldn't be any worse."

Louise desperately fought the urge to panic. While there was chance that he was telling stories—he was a child, after all—but she couldn't dismiss the possibility that he might have suffered a head trauma due to her summoning. What if the darkness he described was caused by the explosion of her summoning? What if the light came from his glowing eyes?

Actually, that still didn't explain the glowing eyes and tattoos, but they had started glowing after Louise had completed the familiar contract, so she couldn't dismiss the possibility that she was at fault. And if she was responsible for not only kidnapping a noble but forcing him into a familiar contract after giving him head trauma… the political fallout could be disastrous!

Louise took a deep, calming breath. "Listen," she said, forcing her tone to be as gentle as possible. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer to the best of your ability."

Aang wasn't sure why Louise was trying to fake a motherly tone, but he didn't have any problems answering her questions. "Sure!" he replied.

"Good, then let's start with something simple. Where are we?"

"I don't know."

Louise resisted the urge to bury her face into her face into her hands. "Right, of course, you wouldn't know," she said abashedly. "Never mind. Next question, what is your name?"

"I already told you, I'm Aang."

"No family name?"

"Nope."

"Interesting." Unless a noble was disowned, they normally had at least a family or territory name. This was a good sign. "Where are you from?" Louise asked.

Aang scratched his chin thoughtfully. He felt like something was missing. Did he used to have a beard? "Oh, I'm an Air Nomad," he answered, remembering that Louise was still waiting for a response. "I travel a lot."

Louise hummed thoughtfully at that bit of news. She'd never heard of an Air Nomad before, but if he was from a reclusive group of traveling mages, that could explain his strange clothes and tattoos. And if that was the case, then he wasn't a proper mage noble from an established country. Maybe she wouldn't be caught in an international kidnapping scandal!

Still, she had to verify. "How many elements are there?" she asked. Starting with such an elementary question would help her determine how much of a mage Aang really was.

"Four," Aang replied promptly. Then, he reconsidered his answer. "Well, technically five, but only four that most benders can use."

Despite the strange wording, he had answered correctly. It was trick question given to first year students "And bender is your word for mage?" she asked.

"Seems like it."

Louise decided to test Aang's magic knowledge further. "What are the four elements?"

"Water, Earth, Fire, and Air."

"Almost," Louise told him. "The last element is actually Wind."

"It's always been called air bending as far as I know," Aang said with a helpless shrug. "But it doesn't make much of a difference."

"I suppose not," Louise agreed hesitantly. While the words were almost interchangeable, Wind Magic was the official term by the Founder's teachings. A deviance in the magic element that Aang's people appeared to devote themselves to hinted at heresy, unintentional or otherwise. "And the fifth element?" she asked.

"Energybending or spiritbending, depending on who you ask."

"Wrong!" Louise exclaimed. "The fifth element is the Void!"

Aang's brow furrowed. "Void? I don't think I've heard of it," he said under his breath. "Maybe my memories are more muddled than I realized."

As Aang pondered his situation, Louise's eyes were once again drawn to the blue tattoos on his boy. Deciding that she had enough information to judge his magic knowledge to be "aware but slightly inaccurate", she decided to ask more personal questions.

"How did you get your markings?"

"My arrow tattoos?" Aang asked. Louise nodded. "I got them when I mastered air bending."

Louise was surprised by his response. What barbaric society would tattoo someone's body to show their expertise in magic? And how would someone with such an underdeveloped knowledge of magic be able to reach any level of mastery? "Mastered as in what class?" Louise asked hesitantly. "Dot? Line? Triangle?" She highly doubted the latter.

Aang looked at her blankly. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said frankly.

"You're uneducated," Louise said with relief. If he didn't know the ranks of magic, then he was obviously not a powerful mage. He was probably only a dot class mage at best. Impressive for his age, but nothing too crazy. Still, she had to ask, "Can you use another element?"

"I can use all of them," Aang said proudly.

All the relief Louise had been feeling evaporated in an instant. "…What?" she asked weakly.

Aang set his staff down in his lap so he would have both hands free for his demonstration. First, he pointed at his air scooter. "Air." He waved a hand in a circle, pulling moisture from the air to form a halo of water over his head. "Water." He raised his other hand slowly, lifting the stones his scooter sat on just a few inches higher and see-sawing the rocks back and forth. "Earth." Then he took in a deep breath and leaned his head back. He slowly exhaled a a thin stream of flames into the center of the water halo. When he was done, he concluded with, "Fire."

Louise looked shellshocked as her familiar casually displayed affinity for all four elements while his staff lay untouched in his lap. "That's impossible," she said in shock.

Her familiar had just demonstrated the ability to use all four elements simultaneously. While a square class mage would be able to combine all four elements into one spell, the fact that he had no trouble using four dot spells at the same time showed that he was at least close to square level proficiency. And his foci wasn't even in his hand! A mage casting with their foci in their lap instead of in their hand didn't make any sense! It was theoretically possible as long as the mage had physical contact with the foci. But such a position lowered the efficiency of the mage's willpower to the point that any spell would be difficult to maintain. And yet, Aang was still maintaining three basic spells without any show of effort.

"I'm the Avatar," Aang replied, as if that explained everything. "Or at least I was. Then I died."

" _What?_ "

"Apparently, I still have some of my old power," Aang continued.

"What in the Founder's name is an _Avatar_?"

"An Avatar is someone who's supposed to master all four elements."

"You _mastered_ all four elements?"

Aang scooted his scooter back so he wouldn't have to take Louise's screaming questions at point blank range. "Some more than others," Aang confessed. "I mean, I learned them all. But earth is very against my nature, and my fire bending never was quite as good as my water or air bending."

"And you can… cast them all at the same time?"

"If you mean bend them all, yeah, I just did." Aang was now looking confused. "Did you want another demonstration? We could go outside if you want a better show."

Louise shook her head. She didn't want to see any more. And she definitely did not want her fam—Aang, showing off his magic in front of the other students. The fallout would be disastrous. She had to figure out where Aang came from and make sure that no one was missing a powerful, young square class mage.

Louise's dread only deepened as she looked at the boy in a new light. "Aang," she her, voice teetering on the edge of panic.

"Yes?"

"How old are you?"

"Hm… I think I was about one hundred sixty-six, but I was in an iceberg for a hundred years, so I'm pretty much in my sixties."

"…"

"But I feel like I'm twelve or thirteen, not including the extra century. Maybe my soul eroding took away some of my age? What do you think? Louise? Louise?"

Louise was unresponsive as she came to a shocking realization. Finally, she spoke in a broken voice, "I gave a square-class child prodigy mage brain damage."

"You did?"

"N-no!" Louise said in panic. The frantic waving of her arms to did not alleviate Aang's concerned expression. "I mean, you don't need to worry about anything. Everything's perfectly fine! I just, um…" She racked her brain to come up with a temporary solution for this. She dared not even venture to find a permanent one. "How about we keep this a secret, just for now?" she asked, no, pleaded.

Aang tilted his head to the side, gazing at Louise in clueless innocence. "Keep what a secret?"

"Your, um… unusual things," Louise said. Seeing his blank expression, she elaborated. "Like spending a century in an iceberg. And being a child prodigy able to use all of the elements. Stuff like that."

"Oh… I see," Aang said in realization. The world had changed a lot, so he had to lay low so he didn't attract too much attention. "I'm trying not to stand out. Don't worry, I've gone undercover before in the Fire Nation. Should I grow my hair out and put on a headband to cover my arrow?"

"I don't think we need to go that far," said Louise. The entire school had already seen how he looked, so there was no point in changing his appearance. Though, she would have to get him some clothes that made him look less like a peasant sheep herder. "But right now, I need you to act like a normal, young noble boy until we figure out what to do with you. Okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Aang's cluelessness was making this both easy and difficult at the same time. "A prodigy of your age going missing would cause a huge problem," Louise explained. "I'm pretty sure your parents are looking for you."

Aang looked downcast as she said this. "Don't worry, no one's looking for me," he assured her with a sad smile.

"I'm pretty sure someone would—"

"The Air Nomads were all killed in a genocide," Aang said softly. "I was the only survivor."

To speak so calmly of death; it chilled Louise to the bone. She didn't want to believe that such a cheerful young boy had experienced such a thing, but one look into his eyes convinced her. While his face still carried a smile, his eyes were deep with pain and sadness. Faking tears and sobs were easy, but no child could fake that expression of genuine grief.

This gave Louise had a different working theory of her familiar's origins. He was a part of a small group of reclusive Wind Mages. If he had been traumatized by the death of all of his friends and family, no wonder he acted so childishly. It was a coping mechanism.

But even if it was a coping mechanism, he was still missing some vital pieces of information that every mage should know. Was he simple-minded, or incredibly sheltered? "Do you know which country did it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Aang said with a nod. "The Fire Nation."

He had mentioned that place before, but Louise knew it definitely wasn't a country. Still, she knew she couldn't say that to his face. "And you know it was the Fire Nation because…?" she let the question trail off.

"I saw the remains," Aang said sadly. "They burned down everything and everyone."

"I'm sorry," said Louise.

Now she knew what he meant. He called them the Fire Nation because they were predominately fire mages. It wasn't unusual for countries to send a fire mage squadron as shock troopers, especially when there was need to take people alive. It was a brutal tactic, but such was the cruelty of war.

"Do you know if they were from Germania?" Louise asked. Her family's rivalry with the Zerbst's left her more than a little biased, but Germania was the most warlike country. If any country would commit such a massacre, it would most likely be those barbarians.

"What's a Germania?" Aang asked.

"One of the six countries of Halkegenia," Louise said as if it was obvious. Aang looked clueless. "We're in Tristan." Still no reaction. "Gallia. Albion. Romalia. Any of those ringing a bell?"

Aang shook his head. "Nope."

Louise buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Founder, you don't know anything."

"Who's this Founder you keep talking about?"

Louise's voice was slightly muffled by her hands, but Aang could still make out every word clearly. "I gave a traumatized square-class child prodigy mage brain damage."

"I'm mostly over the trauma," Aang assured her, though he didn't feel it at the moment, and Louise could obviously tell by his voice alone. "And I'm pretty sure you didn't give me brain damage. Probably. Maybe. Now that I think about it, I'm not really sure. My mind's kind of muddled right now. I'm normally better at remembering things, I think."

"Founder help me," Louise groaned.

Aang cocked his head to the side. "You still haven't told me who this founder guy is."

* * *

"And that's the current situation of my familiar," Louise concluded her report. Her nervousness was palpable, as the stares from the two adults before her were serious and skeptic. Colbert, one of her teachers, seemed to be already considering the political ramifications. Osmond, the headmaster, was much harder to read. His eyes bore into her with a seriousness Louise hadn't witnessed before, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"That's a rather confusing narrative you've given us, Miss Valiere," Osmond finally said. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze relaxing as he did so.

Louise let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Are you certain that everything you've said is true?" the old man asked.

"Not entirely," Louise admitted. "But it's what I've been able to determine thus far. Even Aang, my familiar, seems to be confused about the details. Sometimes he gets a pained expression on his face. I can't tell if he's trying to sort through his painful memories or can't remember things at all."

"Trauma can have the effect of localized amnesia," Colbert said. "I've seen it before, though not in this fashion. It also seems like your familiar might be experiencing a form of confabulation."

"What's that?" Louise asked.

"It's when people create stories to fill in gaps of their memory," said Colbert. "That's not to say that there isn't some truth behind it. As I believe you've already realized, it sounds like your familiar is using term association to fill in the gaps in his memory."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Colbert gave this a moment's thought before replying, "It will help him cope. However, in the long run, it would make it difficult for him to make a full recovery. He would need to reject his false memories if he wishes to regain his old ones. Then again, if everyone he knows was killed, he may not want to recover his memory. Some people view the loss of their previous memories as a new chance for life, being reborn if you will." The balding man shook his head. "It's a situation no child should have to experience."

Seeing that Louise was looking disheartened by Colbert's assessment, Osmond opted to change the subject. "Do you have any other clues as to his origins?" he asked Louise.

The girl shook her head. "I'll try to ask him more about himself later," she promised. "I just didn't want to push him too much. Just in case, well, you know…"

"We understand Miss Valliere," Colbert assured her. "Take your time with the boy. There's no need to rush."

"We haven't heard of any place matching his description, especially with such a strange custom," said Osmond. "Tattooing talented mages, what a curious practice. I wonder if they have similar practices for leaders. Just imagine, a strong warrior, such as myself in my prime, covered head to toe in fearsome stripes of color!"

Noticing that the two other occupants of the room were staring at him in bafflement, he coughed loudly. "Anyway, do not fret Miss Valliere. Time is on our side. We'll find out where this Aang boy comes from eventually."

"Thank you, Headmaster and Professor." Louise gave a small bow to each in turn before making her departure.

Once Louise had stepped out of the room, Colbert looked at Osmond in concern. "Do you think there's a connection with Albion?" he asked.

"Who knows?" the Headmaster grumbled. "The child can't even seem to remember his geography, if he ever learned it in the first place. No, I'm not blaming the boy," he said, holding up a hand to ward of Colbert's incoming accusation. "I just wish we had more to go on. Where were the wind mages living? Who attacked them? And why?"

"If they were nobility it could be seen as a power move that Germinia prefer," said Colbert. "But senseless genocide?"

"It could be less senseless than it appears," Osmond said. "Remember, we're still not sure how the boy survived. Square class mage prodigy or not, a massacre of that scale leaves little chance that he fought his way out."

"And if he hid, survivor's guilt could be preventing him from realizing the point of the attack in the first place," Colbert said grimly. "We'll need to keep a close eye on him."

"As much as I would like to, we have more pressing worries right now," Osmond reminded him. "Those Albion insurgents are growing stronger every day. With war on the horizon, we must make sure our students stay safe."

"I've also heard Foquet of the Crumbling Earth was last seen in Tristan's borders," Colbert said gravely. "Hopefully, he's caught or leaves before the war starts."

"Don't worry," Osmond assured him. "I've had the faculty warned at the beginning of the year, remember? No ne'erdoweller is going to enter this academy under my watch!

A knock on the door caught the two's attention. "Headmaster Osmond?" a woman's voice called out.

The old man's head shot up in delight. "Yes, do come in Mrs. Longueville."

A bespectacled green haired woman entered with a polite smile. "I'm sorry, did I come at a bad time?" she asked, seeing the Colbert standing being the headmaster's desk.

"Not at all, Mrs. Longueville," Colbert assured her. "I was just leaving. I will see you soon, I mean, some other time then." Despite him tripping over his words, he managed to leave the room with his dignity intact.

"I didn't interrupt anything did I?" Longueville asked the Headmaster once they were alone.

"Nothing important, just the usual issues," Osmond replied. As Mrs. Longueville nodded and walked over to her desk, the Headmaster gave a discrete nod in her direction. His mouse familiar, Chuchu, took the signal and scuttled across the floor toward the secretary's desk.

"I'm glad to have found such an attractive and reliable secretary," Osmond said loudly in a very not suspicious tone as his familiar dove under Longueville's desk. "Makes my life a whole easier."

"I'm glad to be of service," Longueville replied. While she had a polite smile on her face, the glare of her glasses concealed the predatory glint in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, comments are food for a writer's soul!


	3. A Question of Maturity

At the break of dawn, Aang awoke with loud yawn. He stretched his arms over his head but felt too comfortable to get up. "That was a good sleep," he said drowsily. "Such a soft bed."

Blearily opening his eyes, Aang looked up at the unfamiliar stone ceiling. He blinked.

Sitting up, the young monk surveyed the room he found himself in. It was definitely a noble's bedroom; no normal person would have a bedroom of that size. There was even a table, chairs, and an ornate wardrobe. The bed he was lying on had pale pink, almost white curtains that were tied with golden sashes to the four bedposts. The room would fit right in to one from Zuko's palace if it wasn't for the different aesthetic. Instead of being decorated with Fire Nation flags and weapons, the décor was largely impersonal. The color scheme of pink, gold, and brown, combined with the styling on the wardrobe, gave the room a light feminine touch. If it wasn't for the lack of personal belongs, Aang would guess the room belonged to young noble girl.

Why was he sleeping there again?

Aang looked down at his side, where a petite girl was curled up fast asleep. Her bright pink hair was a tangled mess, and a small trickle of droll fell from the corner of her mouth. Louise looked to be at peace when she was sleeping, unlike her near panicked state from the night before. She had a very childlike cuteness to her. Aang couldn't resist poking her cheek.

A frown came over Louise's face as she furrowed her brow and turned on her other side. Aang watched as the girl settled down again, cuteness once again overcoming her features as her face settled into ease. Unable to help himself, Aang took the opportunity to poke her other cheek. Louise's face scrunched up as she rolled over once again, still fast asleep.

Aang knew that he should probably stop, but her expressions were too cute to resist. "Just one more," he told himself.

He aimed his finger at Louise's squishy cheek and poked it.

Or, at least he would, if Louise hadn't rolled onto her back and opened her eyes to see Aang's finger dangling over her nose.

Louise screamed and kicked out her leg in the vague of direction of Aang's seated body.

With the reflexes and grace of an Airbending master, Aang twisted his body, transitioned into a back handspring, and landed untouched on the floor. "Good morning?" he offered sheepishly.

Louise's panicked scream caught in her throat when she realized who she had almost kicked. "What were you doing?" she screeched.

"Sorry," Aang apologized. "Your cheeks were too tempting." He had often poked the cheeks of his sleeping children' it was habit at this point. Somehow, out of everything in his adult memories, that was one of the few that had held fast.

Louise glared of disapproval told Aang what she thought of his excuse. Aang offered, "You're cute when you're sleeping."

Louise broke her glare and sighed. "Just don't do it again," she said with as much sternness as she could muster. He was still a child, so she couldn't fault him for doing something childish. It was up to her to take care of him, and while she really wanted to yell at him, she needed to conduct herself in a manner befitting a noble lady. And it was better that he was comfortable enough around her to do such things. That way, he would be more willing to answer sensitive questions about his origins.

Aang's stomach rumbled. He immediately bent over at the waist. "So hungry," he groaned.

"You're not going to die," Louise said flatly.

"I feel like I haven't eaten in forever," Aang complained.

Louise then remembered that she hadn't fed him anything the night before. After meeting with the Headmaster, she had returned to the room kicking herself for not remembering to request a separate room for her familiar. After all, the pile of hay she had lying in the corner was suited for an animal familiar, not a foreign prodigy mage. She had found Aang sleeping on her bed and considered rousing him. However, feeling tired herself, she decided that she would take care of alternate sleeping arrangements the next day and instead went to sleep beside him.

Given that Louise had summoned Aang in the afternoon, that meant he had spent the past eighteen hours without food, which was terrible for a growing boy. And that was assuming he shortly before summoned, which, given the circumstances, could easily not be the case.

"The dining hall should be opening right about this time," she informed Aang. "Let me get dressed and then I'll—" She blushed, finally recognizing that Aang was a boy in her room, and she still looked like she had rolled out of bed. He may be a child, but it was still embarrassing.

"Something wrong, Louise?" Aang asked, worried that she had suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. "Your face is turning red."

Louise turned her face away. "I'm fine," she assured him. The contrast between her actions and words failed to convince Aang. "I just need a few minutes to ready myself before I go."

"…Fine" Aang said begrudgingly. He crossed his arms and legs and summoned an Air Scooter underneath himself.

Louise cleared her throat. "Could I trouble you to… wait outside while I change?"

Aang was going to ask why, but quickly pieced together an answer. "Oh…" is what he said instead. "In that case, I'll just head over to the dining hall by myself."

"I don't want you getting lost," said Louise worriedly, though it sounded to Aang like there was something else she was worried about.

"I'll just follow my senses," Aang assured her. "The nose knows!" He grabbed his staff from where he left it propped up against the wall and headed to the window. "See you later!"

"Wait! We're not on the ground floor!"

With a loud whoop, Aang jumped out the window. Louise ran the window and stuck her head out, only to immediately rear back as Aang came shooting straight up. Both hands were clenched on ribs that extended from his staff. Said staff now had a two sets of orange wings. The larger set of wings stretched out from Aang's back, while the smaller set were near his feet, much like a bird's tail feathers.

"He used transmutation on his staff to give it wings, and he can fly," Louise said to herself. She had been startled, by she wasn't surprised at this point. Transmutation was a dot class earth spell, nothing special. But using it in tandem with the line class spell of flight was the skill of a triangle class mage.

A basic flight was fairly simple: pushing the wind to allow a mage to hover or travel in roughly straight directions. More complicated maneuvers were difficult due to the necessary level of control. Aang, however, appeared to have no issues as he flew in loops and corkscrews. Whether it be by his mastery of wind or the transmuted wings on his staff, his aerial acrobatics were the most impressive Louise had ever witnessed. And the ease of which he did so…

"This is the talent of a prodigy," the mage said in whispered awe.

Sighing, Louise turned back to her wardrobe. At least the commotion Aang was making would make it easier to find him during breakfast. Even if she did tell him not to attract attention, she supposed it was too much to expect a child to keep her instructions in mind. She still had to find him quickly, before he got himself mixed up with nobles who did not, and should not, know about his circumstances.

Gliding over the Academy's central building, Aang was enjoying the feeling of the sun's rays tickling his face as the smell of fresh morning dew filtered through his nose. Then, he felt his nose twitch as a hearty smell entered his nostrils. "Food…" he said hungrily.

Down below, a set of large doors were open wide. Aang could see a few students entering building, while a few others took seats at tables and chairs set up outside. He wanted to quell the rumbling of his stomach as soon as possible, but he remembered Louise's warning about standing out.

"I don't see anyone else flying," he remarked thoughtfully after surveying the skies. He supposed that it could be that no one else felt like flying to breakfast, but he decided it would be best not to reveal his ability to fly until he confirmed other people could fly too.

Aang slapped his forehead with his hand. "I should have realized that sooner," he admonished himself. "I'm lucky no one's noticed me yet."

Aang scanned for a good landing zone. Spying an unobserved cluster of bushes, he steered towards his destination. He folded in the wings of his glider as he dove straight into the bush. The landing was cushioned by air, but Aang couldn't' help the rustling of branches and falling of leaves from the impact. After waiting a moment to avoid suspicion, the airbender stepped out of the bush. A quick shake and some air bending cleared the stray leaves and twigs from his clothes. Confident that his landing had gone undetected, Aang sniffed the air and turned towards the delicious odor.

A girl in a maid outfit stood in his way. Looking at Aang, her blue eyes were wide with surprise and concern.

Aang stared back at her. He turned his head to the bush he had come from. Then he looked back at the maid. Aang flashed her his best disarming smile. "Hi!" he said enthusiastically. "It's a beautiful day for a walk, right?" Mentally, Aang was screaming at himself for potentially being caught.

The maid seemed confused by his statement. "I suppose it is, sir," she replied after a pause.

"No need to call me sir," Aang said with a shake of his head. "My name's Aang. What's yours?"

The maid recovered quickly and gave a small bow. "I am Siesta, Mister Aang," she replied politely.

"Mister Aang?" Aang echoed questioningly.

"Master Aang?" Siesta tried.

Aang made a face. "No, that sounds even worse. Just call me Aang. I don't need a title or anything."

"But I couldn't," Siesta insisted. "It would be rude of me to not address you by your station."

"Oh… right, I'm a noble or something," Aang reflected aloud.

Siesta seemed even more confused by Aang's uncertainty of his own station.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, call me whatever you like," Aang said. His stomach then decided to growl audibly. Aang gave Siesta a sheepish grin. "I'm off to eat, see you around, Siesta!"

Siesta watched the young boy walk off curiously. Aang was certainly a peculiar child. He didn't wear the traditional robes of a student, he looked far too young to attend the academy, and he couldn't even remember his station. However, Siesta was certain that he was a mage.

After all, what commoner could summon wings on a stick and fly?

* * *

Aang found that that the cafeteria had a surprisingly unornate and practical design. Like most of the academy, it was crafted from stone and wood. The walls were plastered with light, neutral colors. The tables and chairs were made of solid brown wood. Some tables were set for six people, other for four, and others for two. It appeared that the seating was designed for student groups of all sizes.

Since it was still early in the morning, there were very few students seated in the cafeteria. A steady trickle of students was only just entering as Aang and Louise finished their meals. Servants came to and from several side doors around the cafeteria, rather serving meals or clearing away trays and messes.

"That was delicious," said Aang, patting his bloated stomach.

Louise looked at him incredulously. "Where do you put all of it?" she asked in awe. Her own meal sat in front of her, not even a third of the way finished. Nobles were served much larger portions than they could feasibly eat so that they had plenty of options to choose from. No one was expected to consume the assortment of food set before them. Which is why Louise couldn't fathom how the skinny child in front of her had fit almost everything into his stomach. The only food remaining was the bacon and fried eggs, which Aang didn't even taste as he ate everything around them. Louise supposed he wasn't a fan of them, which was perfectly fine.

"I'm a growing boy," Aang replied. He frowned suddenly, and a contemplative look came over his face. "I think I'm a growing boy. I am growing up right?"

Thinking that he was relapsing into his memories, Louise quickly jumped to answer him. "Yes, of course you are," Louise assured him in her best motherly tone. "You're going to grow up to be a tall, hansome nobleman."

"With a beard!"

Louise refrained from rolling her eyes. "Yes, you'll grow a beard too," she said drily. It didn't take much to humor his childish dreams. And with how much he ate, she could easily see him shooting up in height. "By the way, my class has the rest of the day free. Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

Aang thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. I guess I'd just like exploring around. Oh, but if you had a library that'd be great."

"You can read?" Louise asked incredulously.

Aang looked at her blankly. "I'm pretty sure I can?" he said hesitantly. He remembered reading before, but the script he'd seen around the school so far resembled nothing like the language he was familiar with.

"Very well," said Louise with a considering nod. "We'll go for a tour of the school and visit the library. Let me finish my meal first though."

Aang nodded, then looked towards the doors that led to the outside. "I'm going to get some fresh air in the meantime," he said. Before Louise could give a response, he backflipped over the back of his chair, twisted in the air, and landed gracefully on his feet. His staff swept behind him as he gave a quick bow.

Louise shot him a disapproving look, but then her expression softened at his childish pout. "I'd prefer if you stayed close," she said slowly.

" _Louise_ ," a teasing voice called.

Louise turned to see the bane of her existence, and her usual tagalong, strolling up to them. "Zerbst," she growled.

"Is she a friend of yours?" Aang asked.

" _That harl_ —ahem—hardly, I meant she's hardly a friend," Louise corrected herself. As much as the Germanian cow deserved every scathing word, Louise would hold herself back in a child's presence. "She's a mean troublemaker. You can go on ahead. Just don't wander off too far or get into trouble."

"Will do!" Aang replied as he scampered away.

He felt a little bad manipulating Louise, but he wanted some fresh air. If she was going to treat him like a child, he'd act like a child. That came with pouting and other devious childish machinations. But… he did feel like he should act more mature. Childish body or not, the monk had been an adult before. Even at a young age, being the Avatar had forced him to grow up much faster than a normal child.

In fact, Aang's childhood had been cut short once he had been told that he was the Avatar. Ever since that night he fled the temple and ended up in an iceberg, he had been carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders. Now, reborn in this new era, he was faced with a much smaller but not easier choice. He could act the age he appeared to be, or could he pull on his shaky memories to act more like an adult.

"Is it wrong for me to act my age?" he wondered aloud.

"I think it's perfectly fine," came a voice from behind.

Aang jumped straight up. Out of habit, a burst of wind aided his ascent. He landed in a crouch on the stone archway that covered the large wooden doors. Looking down, Aang spotted Siesta looking up at him. With a sheepish smile, he hopped down, summoning a cushion of air to slow his fall. "You startled me, Seista," he told the maid.

"My apologizes," Siesta said with a small bow. Aang was worried about her being too subservient, but then he noticed the amused smile on her face.

"How do you keep sneaking up on me?" Aang asked. "I didn't sense you at all."

"Perhaps you should keep your eyes open a bit more," Siesta said mysteriously. She turned, and Aang took notice of the empty tray at her side. "I couldn't help but overhear your plight."

"Yeah…" said Aang, scuffing the stone steps with his foot. "You think it's okay for me to act my age? Even if I… well, know how to act more mature?"

"I won't say I understand the responsibilities of a noble," said Siesta. "But children your age should be enjoying themselves. As long as you don't neglect your duties, I don't see anything wrong by it."

"Thanks." Aang had an impulsive thought and acted on it. Siesta was surprised when Aang clutched her in a brief, though tight, hug. "I needed to hear that."

"I'm happy to help," Siesta said with a warm smile. "Now, I have duties to attend to. So I'll have to bid you a good day, mister—" Seeing his disappointed pout, she corrected herself, "Have a good day, Aang."

Aang's face instantly brightened as he waved her goodbye. "I don't think I could act like an adult if I tried," he said under his breathe. That emotionally vulnerable moment he felt was not the experience of a fully mature adult. Even with adult memories, the child part of him was very strong. Too strong. Almost like he was a kid again, not just physically, but mentally.

"That's too much thinking," he said dismissively. Deciding to dwell on the thought later, Aang decided to go on and do what he came outside to do. Explore!

The courtyard was very open with no trees in sight. Only a sea of grass stretched from the central building to the outer stone walls. White tables and chairs were set up on the grass near the cafeteria. There were only a few students milling about, leaving most of the tables empty. The few students that were seated were all accompanied by their familiars. Aang had never seen such creatures before in his life. Or at least, he couldn't remember seeing those creatures before.

Curious, Aang wandered closer to the tables. The nobles gave him odd looks as he passed from table to table. Even with his eyes focused on the unusual creatures, whispers floated into Aang's ears. Whispers of confusion, speculation, and scorn.

"That's the child Louise summoned."

"I wonder where she got his weird clothes."

"What did she use to paint those awful markings?"

"Having a child pretend to be her familiar, how disgraceful."

"I can't wait for her to finally be kicked out of the Academy."

"Agreed, Louise the Zero needs to go."

Aang visibly slumped. For a school of nobles, they were very petty. He didn't like how they were insulting Louise. But he also knew confronting them in anger wouldn't solve the problem. If anything, it would get worse. The monk did his best to close off his ears as he passed through the tables, now intent on getting some distance betwen himself and the nobles.

As Aang did so, one of the nobles he was passing stood up from his seat, speaking words of wooing to the brown-cloaked girl sat with. As the blonde noble pulled his cape from the chair, a vial fell out of it. Aang stretched out his arm and snagged it before the glass could hit the ground.

"That was close," Aang said as he straightened up.

The blonde noble turned around, seeing Aang standing up with an object in his hand that shimmered in the morning light. "What are you doing?" The blonde boy asked.

"You almost dropped this," said Aang, handing the vial back to him. "It looks expensive, that could have been pretty bad."

Expensive it was. The bottle was made of crystalline color-stained glass, a material no commoner could afford in their lifetime. The violet color and elegant fractured spherical shape only added to its value. Aang could smell the lingering aroma seeping from the container's sealed lid. It was a perfume, a very strong one.

The noble boy's eyes widened when he realized what Aang was handing him. He turned his head away. "That's not mine," he denied haughtily.

"Are you sure?" Aang asked skeptically. "It fell from your pocket."

"You think I wouldn't know if it was mine?" The student looked offended by the suggestion.

Aang shrugged. "Maybe it's your girlfriend's then," he said. Not noticing the panic overcoming the noble boy's face, Aang turned to the female student, a purple eyed brunette, who had been observing their conversation with obvious confusion. "Is this yours?" Aang asked her.

The girl shook her head. "I don't own something as expensive as that," she confessed with flushed cheeks.

"That's so weird," said Aang, tossing the vial idly in the air and catching it as he came down. He barely paid attention to the vial as he juggled it, his mind trying to figure out who it could belong to. "Maybe someone slipped it into your pocket."

The noble boy's face visibly twitched as the vial spun through the air, constantly catching the light due to its refractive surface. His hands kept stretching toward the vial, but he forced his arms back.

"Guiche, do you have another girl?" the noble girl suddenly asked, her violet eyes pained with sadness.

"Katie, I would never do such a thing!" said Guiche, pulling his eyes from the perfume's acrobatics. "Sure, many girls vie for my affections, but you are the only rose that blooms in the garden of my heart."

"Guiche!" Eyes brimming with happy tears, Katie clasped her hands together in heart-struck joy.

"Guiche!" came an angry shout from across the way.

The three turned to see a furious noble girl with blond ringlets stomping towards them. Her black cape fluttered in the light breeze, and her blue eyes carried a promise of vengeance.

"Montmorency!" Guiche squeaked, a bead of sweating tracing the edge of his brow. "What are you doing here?"

"I was trying to look for you before our breakfast date," the irate girl replied. "But then I heard you professing your love for a first year while seeing a commoner use my perfume as a juggling ball." She shot a glare at Aang as she said this.

Aang caught the vial sheepishly and extended it towards Montmorency. The noble girl snatched it back without even looking at his face. "Your welcome," Aang muttered under his breath.

"Breakfast date?" Katie repeated. She turned towards Guiche. "Guiche, is that why you wanted us to have your breakfast outside? You were cheating on me?"

Another bead of sweat dripped from Guiche's head. "N-not exactly…"

"Cheating on you? He was cheating on me!" Montmorency said furiously. "We've been going out for over a year now!"

Katie's eyes teared up. "Guiche, you were using me as a side girl?"

"No!" Guiche denied. "I mean, I just was—"

"You were taking advantage of a first year! Am I not enough for you? Is that it?"

"My dearest Mon Mon, I never meant—"

"She's your dearest?" Katie asked in a broken voice.

Guiche's eyes widened as he fumbled a response. "No! Yes! I mean—"

"I never want to see you again!" Katie shouted.

"You disgust me," Montmorency said with an upturned nose.

Desperate, Guiche pulled his last act of bravado. "Now ladies, my affection is free to anyone who flocks towards me," he said suavely. "I'm sure there's a way we could come to an agreement."

"No way!" the two girls said in unison.

_SMACK_

Aang looked down without pity where Guiche was lying on the grass. The noble's body was wracked with shame. His face bore twin red handprints, one from each girl. The commotion from the argument had brought over a small crowd from the surrounding tables and beyond, and now most of them were laughing at Guiche and pointing.

"You can't escape angry girls, playboy."

"What a joke, I can't believe it took this long for this to happen."

"He's a shameless flirt; about time he got taken down a size."

"You're such a loser, Guiche."

While Aang agreed that Guiche deserved a punishment for his betrayal, he did not approve of the public shaming that was going on. Just minutes earlier the students had mocked Louise for her magic—which made no sense to Aang, since Louise must have used an extremely powerful spell to bring him back from the dead—and now that same group was insulting Guiche without respite. Not a single person was saying anything in his defense. There was no comradery, just savage vultures feasting off other's humiliation.

Aang's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to speak up, but a voice said first, "You!"

Aang turned to Guiche, who was lying on the ground and glaring at the bald monk. "Me?" Aang asked, just to be sure.

"You're the reason I just lost two beauties!" Guiche declared. Rising from the ground, he drew a rose from his robes. "Your master will hear about this, commoner!"

"I'm not a commoner," Aang stated.

"That's right," said Guiche, with a cruel smirk. "You're just a familiar. A familiar of Louise the Zero. You're even more worthless than your master."

Aang's eyes narrowed. "I was going to pity you, but since you're insulting Louise, I don't feel you deserve it," he said. Aang didn't mind the insults to himself. Child in mind and body he may be, he had faced far worse than petty insults in his lifetime. But Louise was a hardworking young girl with plenty of potential. Calling her worthless, especially to his face, was unacceptable.

"You think I need your pity, boy?" Guiche sneered. "It appears someone is in need of discipline."

"Agreed," said Aang with a solemn nod. "If you were disciplined more as a child, you would know better than to toy with girls' hearts."

The crowd laughed at Guiche. Scowling, Aang then turned to them, holding his staff out. "And you guys aren't any better," he shouted at them. "You think insulting others and bring them down makes you better people. Well, guess what? It doesn't!"

The crowd's laughter died. Some looked angry at Aang's words, but a select few seemed contemplative.

"You, a commoner, think you insult me?" Guiche asked Aang. "I am Guiche de Gramont, son of General Gramont. My family has a powerful military background."

Aang slowly turned back around to face Guiche. "Is that supposed to mean something?" the young monk asked. "Just because your father is skilled in battle doesn't make you any better of a person."

Guiche grated his teeth. He had been insulted before, but never by a commoner, and a child no less. "I challenge you to a duel!" he declared.

Aang stared at him. Seeing that Guiche was serious, he asked, "Why?"

"Because you have laid grave insults against me," said Guiche. "As a man, I cannot take those insults without retribution."

"I'm pretty sure a man doesn't take petty things so seriously," Aang deadpanned. Guiche's forehead veins scrunched up in anger. "Anyway," Aang continued. "I'm not a fan of violence, so I won't duel you."

"Of course, if you're scared, I won't hold it against you," said Guiche. "You are a commoner child after all."

Aang gave him a deadpan look. Given Guiche's attitude thus far, he doubted the noble was anywhere near his level of power. Still, using his bending to beat up a child—even if the child in question was older than his current self—would leave a bad taste in his mouth. "I'm not going to be baited that easily," Aang said firmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Louise."

"You think you can walk away from a duel of honor?"

Aang froze the word bringing a flash of memories to his eyes. He slowly turned around to face Guiche. "Honor?" he repeated.

"For my honor as a man and a noble, I must challenge you to a duel," Guiche declared. "But I wouldn't expect a child to know of such things."

Aang sighed. This was like Zuko all over again, except this time, Guiche's defense of his honor was already corrupted. "I'm well aware of what honor compels nobles do," Aang said solemnly. "I have seen honor drive them to the brink of despair, flung to the farthest corners of the world. Truly, a noble's honor is a terrible burden to bear." Aang took a deep breath in. "Fine. If it is your honor at stake, I cannot turn you down. Guiche de Grammont, I, Aang of the Air Nomads, will accept your duel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, comments are food for a writer's soul!


	4. The Duel of Honor

The Vestri Court was the in the north-western corner of the academy. Like most of the courtyards, it was shaped in a triangle. The north-west border of the courtyard was a section of the large wall that encompassed the Academy. On either end of that wall was a tower. Directly to the north was a gold-capped tower. Lying almost to the west was a red-capped tower. From each tower stretched covered hallways that served as connectors from the outer towers to the central tower. Aang found the design practical, but sorely lacking in artistic flavor compared to the Air Nomad temples.

Following Guiche to the center of the courtyard, Aang took a moment to observe the throng of students who were starting to make a ring around them. The monk had assumed that they would be fighting in an official dueling ring, but he supposed open air would serve just as well. Earth, air, and fire were perfectly viable options in this environment.

Aang took a few readying breaths as he surveyed his opponent. Guiche's eyes were brimming with anger and indignance. However, his gaze lacked the stern resolve of a trained fighter. Try as he might, Aang found that he couldn't take the flamboyant noble boy seriously. Absolutely nothing about Guiche showed any competence in bending—magic, as they called it—or combat in general. The blond looked like he was in good shape, but looking fit and being athletic were two entirely different things.

"Are you ready to begin?" Guiche asked Aang with a smug grin.

"I suppose," Aang said with a small frown. "But what are the rules for the duel? How will we be dueling?"

"A mage uses the magic gifted to us by the Founder," Guiche replied haughtily. "A commoner such as yourself can use that stick you have."

Well, that was insulting. Sure, his glider looked like an ordinary stick when it wasn't in use, but there was no need for mockery. "So, it's a magic duel?" Aang asked, deciding to ignore the barb.

"If you wish to call it that," Guiche said dismissively.

Aang nodded. A bending duel meant he was perfectly in his element. "And how is the winner is decided?" he asked.

"Why, when the other person surrenders, of course," Guiche replied. "There's no need for anyone to get seriously hurt, after all."

That wasn't as clear as Aang would have liked. He could only guess that this was more of an informal duel, hence the casual setting and loose rules. It wasn't ideal, but if a duel would satisfy Guiche's sense of honor, it would be enough.

"Okay, I'm ready," said Aang. He held his staff in both hands, keeping the front end low in front of him as he waited for Guiche to make the first move.

Guiche's grin grew greatly. The opportunity to bring down an uppity commoner was exactly the catharsis he needed after his public embarrassment.

"Behold," the blond declared, holding his rose-wand high in the air. "The power of a mage!"

Guiche flung his rose-wand forward, sending a single stray petal fluttering to the ground. Aang watched curiously as the petal lightly landed on the grass. His eyes exploded outwards when the ground underneath the petal became enveloped in a flash of light. A glowing armored form slowly rose from the earth. The light dimmed to reveal a feminine armored golem standing where the petal once was. In its hand, it wielded a spear made from the same grey metal as its body. A pair of fluffy white wing ornaments adorned each side of its helmet. Hanging from its waist like a skirt was a similarly colored breezy fabric that fell past the golem's knees.

"That's amazing!" Aang said in genuine awe.

Toph's metalbending was impressive, but Guiche's golem creation was fast and flashy. The monk came to the realization that he had underestimated his opponent. Metalbending to such a degree required a steep amount of training, even with natural talent. Aang still wasn't sure why Guiche had used the petal, or why everything was glowing, but he chalked it up to theatric techniques. He'd been dead for a while. If bending could be renamed into magic, then it wasn't unthinkable that certain techniques had developed to make bending more theatrical.

Still, how had Guiche managed to make white cloth-like material out of literal dirt? Aang decided to shelve that mystery for another time.

"I'm glad you see it my way," said Guiche with an appreciative nod. "Unfortunately for you, now my Valkyrie will have to put you in your place."

"We'll see about that," said Aang. His grip on his staff tightened. He pushed his senses into the elements. He could feel the movement of the wind and the vibrations in the earth. Water vapor hung in the air and warmth spread through his body. He was ready for this fight. Aang detested combat because he didn't like hurting others. But if Guiche wanted to fight using his golem as a proxy, that meant Aang didn't have to worry about accidental injuries.

Before the two could launch their opening attacks, a shrill voice called out, "Stop!"

Aang and Guiche turned to see Louise breaking through the circle of students, panting heavily as sweat dripped from her brow. "You two cannot duel!" she declared. "It is against the school rules!"

"Why Louise, the rules only pertain to nobility," said Guiche haughtily. "Any commoner foolish enough to face a noble is perfectly fine."

"Aang is not a commoner!" Louise shouted indignantly.

"That is true," Guiche said with sickening smugness. "He's a familiar; that makes him even less than a commoner. Especially since he's the familiar of a Zero like you."

"Enough," said Aang sternly, righting his staff and stamping it against the ground. At the sound his voice, everyone quieted and turned to him. There was no way to explain it, but his order had carried a certain weight that could not be denied. The monk's eyes were hardened beyond his years as he looked at the two students. "Is this duel against the rules?" he asked. "If so, I must decline."

"Scared?" Guiche challenged. His voice gave the slightest bit of tremble, intimidated slightly by Aang's suddenly authoritative demeanor.

"Of getting in trouble? Of course," Aang admitted easily. "Why? Do you think you're above the law?"

Guiche scoffed, putting on a brave face that fooled no one. "I follow the law to the letter," he said defensively. "And there is nothing in the rules that state that a mage cannot duel a familiar."

Looking into Guiche's eyes and seeing no dishonesty, Aang turned to Louise. "Is this true?" he asked.

"Well… yes," Louise admitted. "But you still don't have to duel him. A maid came and explained the whole thing to me. There's no reason for you to accept his challenge!"

"Yes, there is," said Aang wearily. "The duel is about Guiche's honor, and I cannot turn down an honor bound challenge."

"I'm impressed that a peasant boy such as yourself can understand the concept of honor," said Guiche, regaining his naturally cocky expression. "We nobles are tasked with a heavy burden: to rule the masses who lack our blessing. A noble's honor is essentially to setting standards. It is truly a heavy burden to bear, but bear it we must."

"You're a two-timing playboy; you have no standards!" Louise exploded. "You're always flirting with a new girl every week. You've dated almost half the girls in our class and the seniors in a little over a year! And it was you cheating on your girlfriend with a freshman that caused this whole mess!"

The surroundings chuckled as Louise ripped into Guiche's façade. The blond made a pained grimace as he once again found himself as a laughingstock. Summoning up his charismatic smile, he made his comeback.

"All the roses in this garden are beautiful sights," Guiche said dramatically. "It would be a crime if I didn't pay each of them their fair share of attention. Don't be jealous, Louise, those frown lines will give you wrinkles."

Aang sighed. He had met flirtatious nobles before in his adult life. They tended to be arrogant, but charming in their own ways. Guiche had the looks of a pretty-boy, but his personality so far had shown little if any redeeming qualities. It was a wonder he managed to attract any sort of positive attention from anyone who listened to him.

Louise shook her head at Guiche's display. "Aang, forget about this duel and come here," she ordered.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Aang said with a shake of his head.

"I can't let you get hurt," Louise insisted.

"Protective of your little pet, how cute," Guiche teased.

"Shut it, Gramont!" Louise snapped. The venom in her voice cause Guiche to jump back. He tried to smooth it out by striking a pose, as if he was simply readjusting his stance. It fooled no one.

At this point, Aang chose to ignore Guiche's childish antics. "Don't worry, Louise," said Aang. "I'll keep it simple; I remember what you told me earlier."

"But you shouldn't fight him," Louise insisted. "The rules—"

"Are only for nobles, as I've already said," Guiche interrupted. "As much as you may adore your familiar, you can't honestly expect me to believe someone in such a ridiculous get up could be a proud member of nobility."

Aang shrugged. He might have once been the Avatar and a major political figure, but here he was a child being taken care of by a noble teenaged girl. At best, he was the semi-official ward of a noble. That was a legally grey area that he couldn't comment on.

Louise bit the bottom of her lip as she looked between Aang and Guiche. Her familiar gave her a reassuring smile and nod. Finally, Louise sighed. "Fine," she said. "But do not harm him." She glared at Guiche as she said this.

Guiche shrugged. "I'll try my best, but things happen."

"Don't worry," Aang assured Louise. "I'm not called Twinkletoes for nothing."

"Twinkletoes?" Guiche scoffed. "My runic name is Guiche the Bronze, a much more proper name."

Aang had to nod in agreement to that. The Bronze was a title that emphasized his skill with metalbending. Toph's nickname was a teasing way of saying Aang was light on his feet. In terms of the respect the names carried, there was only one obvious winner. "That's what an old friend of mine called me," Aang replied. "Even if my nickname isn't fancy or cool sounding, it's still precious to me."

Louise looked at Aang with pity as she witnessed the nostalgic smile on his face. To her, an old friend of Aang's could only mean someone who had passed away. The fact that Aang could smile under those memories was a testament to his emotional strength. It was, to say the least, an inspiring sight.

Guiche dismissed Aang's words with a flick of his silky blond hair. "Now, if there are no other interruptions…" He looked to Louise, who shook her head and stepped back to the edge of the crowd. "In that case, let us begin." Raising his wand hand up, he cried, "Valkyrie, attack!"

The Valkyrie ran towards Aang with a speed and grace that defied its hasty creation.

"Earth to earth should be simple enough," Aang said to himself as he put himself into an earth bending stance. Fists clenched, one around his staff. Elbows tucked in, ready to summon power. Legs spread and knees bent, to aid in stability. The stance change caught many of the watching students of guard, and some started to laugh at how ridiculous the boy looked.

Louise forced herself to watch as Aang slowly raised his foot and slammed it down onto the grass. At first, she assumed that it was a move of intimidation or preparation. Then, to the surprise of her and everyone watching, the ground beneath the Valkyrie collapsed, trapping the golem from the waist down in a hole.

The courtyard was silent as everyone struggled to process what had just occurred. Aang, noticing the sudden hush, looked around, worried that he had made a serious faux pas. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"H-how?" Guiche sputtered in surprise. "That should be impossible!"

"Trapping someone in a hole?" Aang asked. "It's not impossible, it's pretty simple. In fact, it was one of the first things I learned. Well, I actually learned how to get someone out of a hole, but it's almost the same thing."

Aang's words failed to mollify his opponent. "You're a commoner!" Guiche shouted. "How do you know magic?"

"I learned?" Aang answered questioningly, not understanding the problem.

"You shouldn't be able to use earth magic!"

"You mean it wasn't an earth duel?"

Seeing that Aang's responses were giving more questions than answers—literally—Guiche turned to Louise. "How did your familiar do that?" he asked. "Is this some sort of trick?"

"It's no trick," Louise said with certainty. "My familiar may appear to be a commoner, but he is a mage."

"A noble dressed like that?" Guiche questioned, using his hand to indicate Aang's unusual attire.

"He's from far away," Louise said defensively. "And he's technically… not a noble?" She looked to Aang questioningly, who shrugged. "Yet," she amended.

"Yet?" Aang echoed.

"Yet?" Guiche asked.

"Yet," Louise affirmed. "That is all you need to know. Aang's personal affairs are none of your concern."

Aang wasn't sure what Louise meant by that, but at least that misunderstanding had been cleared up, hopefully. "So, shall we continue?" he asked Guiche.

"I'm not so sure we should," said Guiche hesitantly.

Aang looked at him with confusion. "I thought a noble dueling a familiar wasn't against the rules?" he said questioningly.

"It isn't," Guiche insisted. "But I didn't expect to be fighting a mage."

"And what's wrong with that? You were eager to fight me before you knew I had bend—magic." Aang caught the slip of the tongue just in time. "What's changed? What happened to your honor?"

Guiche looked at Aang with a newfound sense of wonder. "You are right," he said, resolution filling his voice. "Mage you may be, but it would be wrong to end it here before a clear victor has been decided. Very well, boy, we shall resume our duel. But since you are obviously capable of defending yourself, I must give you a harder challenge."

"You're going to fight me yourself?" Aang asked warily.

Guiche looked affronted by the suggestion. "Founder, no!" he replied, raising his wand once again. "My Valkyries shall provide the entertainment!"

Once more he flung his rose-wand forward, sending a scattering of petals falling to the ground. This left Aang wondering if Guiche replaced his rose whenever it started running out of petals. Six more illuminated golems rose from the earth, each identical to the currently trapped original.

"I hope you can handle six at once!" Guiche thrust his rose high and cried, "Now, my Valkyries, attack!"

Louise's heart leapt into her throat as she watched the half-dozen armored constructs swarm charge towards Aang. Guiche's golems were disproportionally powerful for a dot class mage. From their year, only Tabitha or the blasted Kirche could best him in magical combat. Louise was worried about Aang getting hurt, but then she saw the look in his eye. There was alertness and caution in his eyes observed the enemies bearing down on him. But there was something more. A spark. Something she had seen a glimpse of, but it had never shown quite as bright now as it did before. It was as if something in him had been released.

A smile broke across Aang's face as he raised his staff with both hands. "Here I come!" he shouted as he struck down with his staff.

The instant the staff met the earth, the ground gave a shudder. Students trembled as the courtyard rumbled. The shaking was felt even by an old man sitting at the top of the central tower. A sharp crack extended from where Aang's staff rested on the ground. With exponential speed and ferocity, the crack extended outward. The ground ripped itself apart from underneath the feet of all seven Valkyries, sending them falling into a newly made chasm.

As Aang raised his staff up, the only sound that could be heard was that from the earth closing in on itself, swallowing the incapacitate golems. The cracks and crunches that followed were loud enough to be heard on the other side of the academy. With the sounds of bones being flattened underneath a falling building, the echoes resonated and died as the ground closed back up. With the grassy ground restored, only a little worse for the wear, Aang readied his staff and called to Guiche, "I can handle that much. Now, let's really get into it!"

It took a moment for Guiche to respond. His jaw was currently sitting on the ground as he stared at Aang in astonishment. "Y-you are a-a p-powerful mage," he finally managed to stutter out. His legs quivered as he struggled to remain upright.

"You're not too bad yourself," Aang said cheekily. "Come on, send out your next trick. I'm ready!"

Guiche took a deep breath to steady himself before revealing the next card up his sleeve.

"I forfeit."

"You what?" Aang exclaimed.

Guiche slipped his wand into his robe. "This duel has shown me enough," he said with finality. "You clearly have mastery over earth magic. I should not have assumed you to be a commoner based on your attire. You have bested me at my own element. I will take my defeat with grace."

"He was glowing and floating during the rune branding process!" Louise exclaimed in exasperation. "That didn't make you think that he might have some magical ability?"

"You create explosions on a regular basis, and that's not magic," Guiche pointed out. "Besides, he was producing wind back then, when he's clearly an earth mage. How was I supposed to put the two together?"

"Actually, air is my primary element, and earth is my weakest by a long shot," Aang admitted.

Guiche stared at him.

The crowd stared at him.

Louise facepalmed.

"Oh…" Aang said sheepishly. "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

* * *

In the Headmaster's tower office, Old Osmond and Professor Colbert had observed the duel via a magic mirror mounted on the wall by Osmond's desk. While several times Colbert had attempted to leave to intervene on Aang's behalf, Osmond had convinced him to stay. After all, Louise seemed certain that her familiar was powerful mage, and Guiche de Gramont was only above average in his class. In the end, both of their expectations had been blown out of the water.

"Miss Valliere certainly summoned a mage," Colbert stated. "To have that much power and control, he must be a line class earth mage, at the very least. And if earth truly is his weakest element—"

"Then Valliere's claim of him being a square class mage holds much merit," Osmond completed his subordinates thought. "By Brimir's beard, did you see the way the boy was flying on that stick of his? Transmutation for wings and those flying maneuvers is a combination worthy of a triangle class mage."

"He has a talent," Colbert agreed. "And training too."

"Why, I reckon he could give Miss Orleans or Miss Zerbst a run for their money in a proper magic duel!"

"Are suggesting we allow dueling in the academy?"

Osmond coughed, clearing his throat. "Of course not," he declared. "Dueling was banned for good reason. Too many hot-blooded youths dueling for no reason and maiming each other, or worse." His voice grew grave at the end, and a dark look crossed his face. Then, in a moment, it was lifted. "I'm just saying that if they were to, theoretically, duel at some point, he would most likely hold his own."

"And that's not even including his runes," Colbert added with a nod of agreement.

"Yes, you did say that his runes were of the Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God, correct?"

"A perfect match," Colbert confirmed. "If Miss Valliere's familiar is a talent mage and has the ability to master any weapon, then that would make him the most powerful person in the country. No, in the entire continent."

"That is assuming he is as good a mage as we presume and his runes have the power the legends foretold," Osmond reminded him. "For now, we'll just keep a watchful eye on him. And try to figure out where the boy's from before we have to deal with a foreign army knocking on our doors."

"Shouldn't we encourage the students to keep quiet about Miss Valliere's familiar until we know more about him?" Colbert asked.

"They're children, they would gossip regardless," said Osmond dismissively. "Telling them to not gossip would just make it worse. And with the show he put on just now? I don't doubt that everyone will know what he can do by lunchtime. At any rate, at least the Void Day celebration will be entertaining. It should provide a nice distraction from trying to puzzle out this mysterious familiar."

"Didn't you say the princess was coming that day?" Colbert asked.

"Yes. And?"

"Doesn't that mean that the princess and all her retainers will learn about Miss Valliere's familiar?"

"…Founder's foot fungus."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to anyone who expected a fast paced, desperate, furious duel. This is Aang we're talking about. Even with his weakest element, he's more than a match for Guiche. In fact, Aang could probably use no bending at all and still win the fight.
> 
> The plot for this story is on cruise control, since we have faced anything strong enough to give Aang a challenge. But be patient, it will come in time.
> 
> Oh, and if you'd like to see what happens when Louise Summon the Dragon of the West (aka Uncle Iroh), I've got a story for that too!
> 
> I love reading your comments! Remember, comments are food for a writer's soul!


	5. Academy Life

Aang was sitting on his and Louise’s shared bed, legs crossed, looking down in shame. This was the second time in two days that he had been dragged to Louise’s room, but this time, he knew he was in trouble.

Louise was pacing back and forth. Occasionally, she would stop, look at him, and then resume her pacing. Her mouth opened and closed as she was struggled to find the correct words to express herself.

Finally, Aang grew tired of the tense silence. While he could meditate to spend the time, he felt that would be disrespectful. “Would it help if I said I’m sorry?” he offered.

“No,” Louise immediately snapped. Then her face softened. “Yes, I mean—ugh! Why couldn’t you just listen?”

“I was trying,” Aang answered meekly.

He had been vigilantly keeping his power to a minimum at the start of the duel, but then his childish self had reared its innocent head. There had been no reason to split open the courtyard to beat the golems. Using evasion and standard earthbending would have gotten the job done eventually. Aang had gotten excited, lost control, and ended up revealing too much about his abilities. He hadn’t had this much trouble restraining himself since… well, since he was a child. In fact, even when he was traveling across the world he hadn’t suffered in control unless his emotions were unstable.

Louise took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Turning to face Aang fully, she was now the perfect image of tranquility. “I am very disappointed in you,” she stated plainly.

Aang couldn’t help but wince. He had acted like a child, and now he was being scolded like one. It stung his pride, but he knew he deserved it. “I know,” he responded, keeping his head bowed. “I’ll make sure not to do it again.”

The intensity of Louise’s stare bore into Aang’s bald, tattooed head. Eventually, the girl sighed. “Raise your head,” she ordered. “I think you’ve learned your lesson, so I’ll let you off easy this time. But make sure to restrain your magic better so you don’t attract any more attention. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Good.” Louise offered him a small smile. “Now, I believe you wanted a tour of the academy?”

“We can still do that?” Aang asked excitedly.

“There is still plenty of time in the day,” said Louise. “Besides, my class’s assignment for today was spending time bonding with our familiars. This technically counts as me merely fulfilling the task I was given.”

“Awesome!”

Aang knew he was acting like a child again, but he couldn’t help it. It was one thing to see the school while flying overhead, but it was another thing to get a tour of the inside.

Louise decided to start in the building they were in. She took him to the top floor and they worked their way down. At the top of the academy’s central tower was the headmaster’s office and a few other faculty restricted areas. They weren’t able to enter the rooms, of course, but Louise felt obligated to show what she could. As they descended, they passed the senior, junior, and freshmen female student floors. Then came the senior, junior, and freshmen male dorms. The next floor was a large common area, complete with tables, chairs, sofas, and a library. Finally, the bottom floor was a semi-circle that made the cafeteria.

“Where’s the other half of the floor?” Aang asked.

“That’s the kitchen and servants’ area,” Louise replied. “It’s not a place for nobles like ourselves.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re nobles and they’re commoners,” was the factual reply.

“And?”

Louise hesitated, trying to figure out the best way to explain the difference of social status. “Think of it like different areas for students and teachers,” she said. “Students cannot go in a place restricted for teachers. That is why commoners don’t go to the same places as nobles. And while a teacher can go into a student’s personal area, it’s not socially acceptable to do so. That is why, as nobles, we do not go into the servant areas. Does that make sense?”

Aang nodded. That a much clearer explanation than he had expected. He wasn’t ignorant about the difference of social status, but he wanted to learn the distinction from Louise’s perspective to better understand her culture. “But I’m technically not a noble,” the monk pointed out.

“True,” Louise admitted. “But you are a very powerful mage, so you should try to act the part of a noble, even if you aren’t. At least for now.”

The hint she was giving him was tempting bait, but Aang was more curious about something else she had implied. “What does being a mage have to do with being a noble?” Aang asked.

Louise’s eyes widened comically. She glanced around to make sure no one had overheard Aang’s question before pulling the boy off to the side. “It has everything to do with being a noble!” she said in an urgent whisper. “Why do you think we are nobles?”

“Because you were born into nobility?” Aang guessed. That was the way it worked in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. There were also ways to become nobility through merit, but that was an extremely rare occasion.

“That is only partially correct,” Louise informed him. “While we do have the blood of the Founder flowing in our veins, magic is our proof of rule. To have someone unable to use magic enter the nobility would be blasphemy against the Founder.” She said this with a trace amount of bitterness.

“Wait,” Aang said with a frown. “Are you saying that all benders—mages—are nobles? Using an element is all it takes to be a noble?”

“No,” Louise denied. “All nobles are mages, but not all mages are nobles. Some mages have been cast out from their family; others have been demoted for their actions.”

“That sounds sad.”

“It is,” Louise agreed with a solemn nod. “To lose the right to a noble family name is a great loss.”

“Not that,” Aang said with a shake of his head. “People without magic can’t rise in status. Ruling should be based on someone’s ability to lead, not their powers over an element.”

To his surprise, Louise looked offended, even horrified by the suggestion. “The Founder set up the hierarchy six thousand years ago. It has worked then, and it continues to work now,” Louise insisted.

Aang gave her a hard look that seemed out of place on his childish face. “If you only look at the surface, everything always looks peaceful. To find the truth, you must delve into the deepest depths.”

“Is that a saying from your country?” she asked.

“I guess so?” Aang wasn’t sure if the words were exactly right, but someone had told him something with a somewhat similar meaning. Maybe.

Louise sighed. Aang was an inquisitive and mysterious child, but that’s all he was: a child. And he came from a distant—and most likely uncivilized—land. The questions he asked defied the church’s teachings and went against everything Founder stood for, but it would be unreasonable to expect him to know how a proper society was run. In time, she would teach him how the world really worked. “Aang, you shouldn’t say things like that in public,” the young mage said softly, but sternly.

“Why?” Aang barely managed to keep his rising indignation out of his voice. He had to remind himself that Louise was most likely raised to be a bending supremacist. Unlike him, she had never seen what a non-bender could accomplish. While her words were insulting and harmful, she spoke from a childish perspective. In time, he would have to teach her how the world should work.

Louise took a deep breath to calm herself before explaining. “The Founder’s blessing has been handed down the ruling classes since Halkegenia was founded,” she said. “Magic gives us the divine right of rule. Only barbaric countries like Germania allow commoners to buy their way into nobility. If someone heard you speak against the hierarchy, they might report you to the church. Especially with the mess going on in Albion…”

“I don’t get it,” Aang admitted.

Magic, or bending, came from the lion turtles and had been passed down for generations. But it never determined the right to rule, and it hardy counted as divine. Whoever founded Halkegenia under those pretenses must have been a zealous bending supremacist. Aang also didn’t know what a ‘church’ had to do with anything, or what mess was in Albion.

Louise could only sigh “Just don’t speak against the way society works in public, okay?” she urged.

Aang nodded reluctantly. He still had questions, but he could tell now was not the time to ask them. The place was too public, and Louise looked like she wasn’t in the mood to answer his inquiries.

There was an awkwardness between them as Louise resumed Aang’s tour of the Academy, but gradually the two managed to push the feeling aside. Aang got to see the five towers that made the perimeter of the Academy. Each tower had a dome on top that was colored to symbolize the element it represented. From the right of Academy’s entrance to the south, there was the blue Water Tower, the white Wind Tower, the red Fire Tower, the gold Earth Tower, and finally, the purple Void Tower.

Each tower, aside from the Void Tower, was inhabited by at least three professors who each taught one year’s worth of students in their respective element. Classes were held in the corresponding tower of each element. Since the Void Tower was Brimir’s “lost element”, it had no teachers or inhabitants. Instead, it was used mostly for storage on the lower floors, while the higher floors made up the Academy’s famed Vault. The Water Tower had three floors dedicated to the Academy’s medical wing, but the other three towers were full of unused rooms.

“Why isn’t more of the academy used?” Aang asked as the tour came to a close. “There’s so much empty space in the towers and courtyard.”

“What would we use it for?” Louise asked with a raised eyebrow. “The academy is designed for students, after all. We can’t simply clutter the space with random junk.”

“You could make some space for practicing magic.”

“We already practice our more dangerous spells outside,” Louise informed him. “The small, harmless ones are done inside classrooms.

“What about a place for animals?”

“We have our familiars, and there is a ranch with stables right outside the academy when we need to request transportation.”

“How about sports? Do you play sports?”

“Of course, on the odd occasion.”

Aang looked around but couldn’t see anything except grass up to the courtyard walls. No poles, goals, balls, or anything that indicated a sport was played in the area. “What can you play out here?” he asked.

“Levi-ball, where you have opposing teams try to levitate a ball into the other’s basket. There’s Magic Shape, where you use your magic to make an image of something and someone else guesses. Oh, and I suppose there’s Focus. Two people compete to see how long they can maintain a spell—”

“Not magic sports!” Aang interrupted. “Physical sports! Where you actually have to move, jump, or run!”

“Like exercising?”

“Yeah! No, wait, no!” Aang shook his head. “Don’t you have any sports that involve movement instead of magic?” he asked.

Louise’s nose twitched in barely concealed distaste. “Why would we do that?” she asked. “Those are commoner activities. Exercise and combat practice are the only physical activities a noble needs.”

“Not true,” Aang refuted with a shake of his head. “Sports are good for the body and the soul. Plus, they’re fun! Come on, I’ll show you some games I’ve learned.”

“No!” Louise stoutly refused. “I’m not going to embarrass myself by acting like a commoner in the middle of the academy courtyard.”

Aang was determined to bring some fun to Louise’s life, so he brought his secret weapon.

Louise’s heart was stabbed by the pitiful look on Aang’s face. “No, I’m not going to play with you,” she said firmly.

The pout on Aang’s face intensified, steadily chipping away at the crack in Louise’s defenses.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Louise insisted, turning her head away. However, she couldn’t resist peeking an eye towards at Aang, who was still looking at her like a wounded puppy. “I won’t! I mustn’t!”

“Always a killjoy, aren’t you, Little Louise?” Kirche’s familiar voice popped up.

Louise’s head snapped toward the germanian girl so fast Aang feared she would get whiplash. “What do you want, Zerbst?” she hissed.

“What a rude greeting,” Kirche said in mock hurtfulness as she dramatically put a hand to her chest, or as close as she was physically capable of given the obstructions on her chest.

Trailing behind Kirche was the ever-silent Tabitha, who for once was not carrying a book in front of her face. She greeted Aang with a small nod. He gave her a small bow in return. Without the need to exchange words, they achieved mutual respect for each other.

“Don’t act like your own greeting wasn’t barbarically coarse,” Louise shot back to her eternal rival.

“How about we all take a moment and breathe?” Aang suggested, sensing the rising tension in the air.

Louise looked at Aang skeptically, but she quickly realized that she didn’t want to set a bad example in front of a child. Following Aang’s advice, she took a slow breathe to calm herself. “My apologies, Kirche, it appears that my temper got the better of me,” she said stiffly.

The politeness was clearly forced, but it took Kirche aback. “My, my, my! Louise de la Valliere, apologizing? What has this world come to?” Kirche smiled, but dipped her head down and offered her own apology of sorts. “It appears that my words were too strong for your sensitive Tristan heart. I’ll be careful not to damage your fragile pride next time.”

Louise’s teeth grinded together as she forcefully swallowed a retort. A quick glance at the child beside her reminded her that every ounce of suppressed indignation was worth it. “Thank you for your consideration,” she managed to grit out.

Aang was quickly realizing that despite his efforts, the mood was barely shifting. Like a breeze against a warm updraft, he was losing against the coming storm. It was time to pull out another of his trump cards.

Childish inquiries.

“I don’t think we’ve properly met,” Aang interjected. “I’m Aang, of the Air Nomads. Louise is taking care of me since I’m her familiar now. Who are you? Are you friends of Louise?”

“Oh, we know who you are,” said Kirche. As she spoke, she slowly slunk up to the bald monk, letting her hips sway with every step. “I am Kirche von Zerbst, and this is Tabitha d’Orleans. We saw your victory against Guiche. It was… _very_ impressive.” She tried to lay a hand on Aang’s shoulder, but the boy managed to gently twist himself away from her reach. It was quite graceful the way he moved. There was no rush or urgency to his movements, and yet he managed to slip from her grasp with ease.

Aang wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling that staying too close to Kirche would end up being troublesome. Not dangerous, but his instincts were still telling him to keep his distance. The manner of her dress only added to his worry. She was supposed to be a student, so why was she showing so much cleavage?

“It wasn’t that impressive,” the boy said honestly, making sure to keep some distance between himself and the redhead. “Guiche’s honor was satisfied before we really started to get into it.”

“Oh, really? I thought it was because Guiche ran out of stamina.” Kirche started to skirt towards Aang again, but once again he slipped out of her. Both of them moved casually, but with purpose. Kirche slowly tried to entrap him, but he always managed to slither out of the way. Their movements were like an improvised dance, or a very slow game of tag.

“He was breathing a little heavily,” Aang admitted. “But I think he could’ve continued if he pushed himself.”

“Oh? Are you an expert in stamina?”

Was she seriously trying to seduce with a twelve-year-old? Aang examined Kirche a bit more closely and thought otherwise. It didn’t look like she was taking her flirting seriously, but it still sounded inappropriate. What were they teaching young nobles these days?

Before Aang was forced to come up with a response to Kirche’s inquiry, his benefactor stepped in “Enough!” Louise shouted, reaching out and shoving Kirche away from Aang. “Stop trying to flirt with Aang! He’s off limits, you cow!”

Kirche managed to catch herself before she fell. Straightening up, she smoothed the front of her skirt—needlessly, as it was untouched and far too short—and flashed Louise a satisfied smile. “I knew I could get you back to your old self,” she said triumphantly. “Even in front of a child, your fuse is far too short, Louise.” The redhead squeaked as something lightly jabbed her side.

To everyone surprise, Tabitha, staff in hand, was the culprit. Her eyes were narrowed in a rare show of disapproval to her tall friend. “Behave,” she said curtly.

“Why are you being mean to me, Tabitha?” Kirche asked with an exaggerated pout. “I thought we were best friends! Are you taking Valliere’s side now, is that it?”

Tabitha gave Kirche a deadpan look. “Embarrassing,” she stated.

“I’m not embarrassing anyone! I’m showing my true self with no restraint!” Kirche declared proudly. “I am the Ardent, after all. My passion is as true as my flames!”

“Embarrassing,” Tabitha repeated.

“Tabitha!” Kirche whined. “Does our friendship truly mean this little to you?”

Aang’s stomach grumbled as the two girls played out their… he didn’t even know what to call that conversation. “Want to sneak away and grab lunch?” he whispered to Louise.

The pink haired girl, still captivated by the unheard of scene before her, barely managed to nod in response. Aang grabbed her by the hand pulled her away from Kirche and Tabitha, the latter of which gave him the very slightest of nods as he looked her way. He gave her an appreciative nod in return.

From that moment on, without having exchanged a single word, the two became friends.

* * *

Aang wasn’t sure why, but the food at the Academy made for some of the best meals he’d ever eaten. It didn’t beat his wife’s cooking, of course, but it far exceeded his usual fare. The seasonings were unusual, but potent in all the right ways. The ingredients sometimes were very familiar, and other times completely foreign, but everything tasted good regardless. He couldn’t help but engorge himself.

“Is the meat not to your liking?” Louise asked, noticing that once again, Aang had consumed everything on his tray except the tantalizing meat. Luncheon steak was delicious and expensive, it didn’t make sense to skip that of all parts of the meal.

“I’m a vegetarian,” Aang replied.

Louise was surprised. “You don’t eat meat?”

The boy nodded. “I don’t want to consume anything that lived and breathed as I do,” he explained.

“Oh.” Louise lowered her fork, eyeing the juicy piece of steak that was on it.

“It’s okay if you eat it,” Aang hastily assured her. “I don’t expect you to change what you eat because of my preferences.”

Louise nodded, and eagerly putt he fork in her mouth. While she would never admit it out loud, the academy’s chefs were a cut above the rest. “If I may ask, why are you a vegetarian?” she asked curiously.

“I was taught as a child to live in peace with all creatures,” Aang explained. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, not when there’s another alternative. That’s why I prefer to eat things that don’t suffer, like plants and unfertilized eggs.”

Louise found it ironic that Aang was speaking as if he wasn’t still a child. Then she noticed something odd in his statement. “Wait, if you don’t like fighting, why did you accept Guiche’s duel?” she asked.

Aang sighed. “Guiche’s talk about honor reminded me of someone close to me,” he said. “That person wouldn’t give up if his honor was on the line. I didn’t want to fight Guiche, but I wanted him to find peace. Besides, he ended up using his golems as proxies, so I didn’t have to worry about hurting him.”

Louise nodded, accepting the explanation. “So, if he had tried to duel you without his golems, would you still fight him?” she inquired.

A nod was Aang’s immediate response, but it came with a small frown. “Even if we had to fight each other, I would try my best not to hurt him,” he said.

Louise could tell she was encroaching on uncomfortable territory with her familiar, but she wanted to ascertain something. “Would you ever willingly hurt someone?” she asked. “Say, if they threatened you? Or if it was a choice between your life or theirs?”

Aang was silent for a moment, making Louise wonder if she had poked too far. But before she could apologize, the monk calmly replied, “I will hurt someone if the situation calls for it. I will disable someone if they are too dangerous to leave alone. However, I will not kill my enemies to solve my problems. For better or worse, that is one line I will never cross.”

Seeing her familiar speak with such conviction in his voice, all Louise could offer in response was a soft, “…I see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wanted to skip straight to the princess's visit, but as I started writing this, it just kept going. Next chapter we'll get the action started, I promise.
> 
> I love hearing feedback! Remember, comments are food for a writer's soul!


	6. A Princess and a Thief

Days passed with little fanfare as Aang grew accustomed to life at the Academy. He also quickly learned that he was not anywhere near the four—or five—nations he was familiar with.

For one, the map of Halkegenia, the continent they were on, matched no other landmass Aang had seen in his life. There was no way to scale map against the one in his mind, but on a guess the continent looked to be roughly the size of the Earth kingdom. However, he couldn’t see any signs of the continents he was familiar with.

There were also noticeable difference between the magic the students practiced and the bending Aang had learned. He had noticed a few discrepancies during Guiche’s duel, but those had been easy to write off as the noble boy adding a dramatic flair to put on a show. When that style was taught in academic classroom, however, that changed things.

Mages used wands to focus their magic, in contrast to benders, who used their own bodies to control their ki. The ways mages manipulated elements that made little sense to Aang. Levitation and flight were well-known spells, but a technique as simple as gliding was unused. Drawing water from the environment was a delicate technique, but spawning it from nowhere was normal. The properties of minerals could be changed with a common Transmutation spell, but mages could not use Seismic Sense. Fire magic could not be used to create lightning. Instead, wind magic held that ability. The elements were both the same, yet so vastly different from what Aang knew.

Which was related to another conundrum

Mages could use _any element_.

Aang could only guess that the Founder who had gifted them with magic had distributed the power differently than the lion turtles that had given bending to humans. While every mage had a higher affinity towards a single element, they all generally had the potential to use basic magic in any element. Except Void magic, which was lost with the death of the Founder Brimir six thousand years ago. After learning of the differences between the other elements, Aang highly doubted that the “fifth element” had any similarities to energy bending. Partially because no one seemed to know what it did, aside from being very powerful.

Speaking of the Void, Void Day was quickly approaching. From what Aang had heard, it was a holiday that celebrated the Founder’s lost element. Unfortunately, the holiday had little to do with the actual element itself, and was largely important only for its festivities. This year, the princess of Tristan would be making an unprecedented visit to the Magic Academy, so everyone was working in overtime to prepare the celebrations.

Aang was mostly content to enjoy the food and games, but he was also interested in the Familiar Exhibition that was coming up. Being on stage and showing some tricks sounded like a lot of fun. Plus, Aang felt confident that he would be able to hold himself back this time.

What could go wrong?

* * *

The arrival of Princess Henrietta was heralded by the fanfare one would expect for a member of the royal family. She arrived in a carriage inscribed with her family’s symbol. A small group of exclusive female knights—recognizable to the locals as the Musketeers, the princess’s personal royal guard—surrounded Henrietta on all sides as she passed through the crowd. With one group of musketeers preventing anyone from getting to close, the other musketeers dispersed, leading away their traveling horses and handling other minor affairs.

To Aang’s surprise, the princess’s procession stopped directly in front of him and Louise. The circle of guards parted at the front, allowing Princess Henrietta to greet the pair face to face. “I am pleased to see you well, Louise de la Valliere,” she greeted the mage with a smile. Unlike the polite smile she wore while walking through the crowd, Aang could tell this one was much more genuine. “And it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Aang of the Air Nomads.”

“It is an honor, your highness,” Louise said with a curtsey.

Aang was about to say his polite greeting as well, but when he opened his mouth, his mind became confused. He knew what _not_ to say, as the titles he had learned as a child were out of date in an entirely different country; but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what he was _supposed_ to say to a princess. After a moment that lasted longer than what could be called socially acceptable, he fumbled a “pleased—pleasure, uh, to meet you too, princess. I mean, your highness.” Aang dropped to a bow as he spoke. That, at least, he remembered how to do properly.

Aang could feel disapproval and embarrassment radiating from Louise, but thankfully, the princess looked amused. “The pleasure is all mine,” she said gracefully.

With a final smile towards them, the princess pressed onwards, with her guard once again closing in around her. Aang let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t made the best first impression, but that could have easily gone worse. Those mind blanks were really annoying. “By the way, Louise,” he turned his head to the girl, who was gazing at Henrietta’s departing figure with a look of longing. “Did the princess recognize you from somewhere?”

After a moment, Louise responded with, “We were previously acquainted.”

Finding that answer rather cryptic, Aang pressed, “…How acquainted?”

Louise sighed and turned to face Aang fully. “I was granted the honor of being her childhood playmate since were close in both age and family,” she replied.

Aang stared at her. He blinked once. “You were a playmate to a _princess_?” he asked incredulously. From all of his time he spent with Zuko, he’d never heard of royalty being delivered playmates. At best, they met young nobles that they were supposed to court or marry later on in life.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” said Louise, turning her face away. “Come on, we’ve got to prepare for the exhibition tomorrow. We need to blow the princess away.”

“With a tornado?”

“Don’t be so literal!”

“It was just a suggestion.”

* * *

“My apologies for having you come all the way up here,” the Headmaster began.

Princess Henrietta sat down with all the dignity of a future of queen. “You have nothing to apologies for,” she assured him. “I’m aware that this is a sensitive matter, so it stands to reason that our meeting would take place here.”

There was only four people in the Headmaster’s office. Headmaster Osmond himself, Professor Colbert, Princess Henrietta, and the captain of the Musketeers, Agnes. Mrs. Longueville had other business to attend to outside the Central Tower, and the core of Henrietta’s guards were waiting outside the door of the soundproofed room.

“Based on your highness’s first impressions, what did you think about the boy?” Osmond asked.

Henrietta responded promptly, already having prepared for this question. “He seems like a perfectly normal, albeit easily flustered child,” she replied. “He doesn’t strike me as noble born, but he holds himself too steady to be of common birth.”

Osmond and Colbert nodded in unison. The latter asked the question, “Did his clothes or the tattoo on his head resemble any culture of your knowledge?”

Henrietta shook her head, but offered, “Rub-ah-Kali in the east has a variety of customs, I would assume him to be from there, if anywhere.”

“As his people were nomads, that might be the case,” said Colbert. “However, his background suggests that his people were killed by fire mages, and only in Halkegenia could one find enough mages to slaughter such a community.”

“It takes very few mages to set fire to a town,” Agnes spoke up. She fought to keep the anger down as she spoke from personal experience. “Any group of mage mercenaries or soldiers could do that.”

“This was a tribe of wind mages,” Osmond explained. “From what we’ve learned from Miss Valliere, there were no survivors except the boy himself. No small number of ordinary fire mages would be capable of such a feat.”

“Aang has not revealed how he survived, but he did stress that he dislikes violence and abhors killing. It is most likely that he used his abundant magic to escape, and now feels that using violence against a person would be the equivalent of committing genocide,” Colbert added.

“That is concerning,” Henrietta admitted. Her polite smile shifted into a more serious, contemplative expression. “But he is under the care of Louise, and there is little chance of him running into danger right now. Even if war was to come to Tristan, the boy would likely be taken care of by the Valliere family.”

“In a normal situation, yes,” said Osmond slowly.

Agnes eyes narrowed with open hostility. “You’re not suggesting to send a child to war just because he has talent in magic?” she practically growled.

“Agnes.”

The princess’s tone was soft, but firm. Agnes schooled her features into a passive expression and made a small bow in the old man’s direction. “My apologies, I spoke out of turn.”

“That’s quite alright,” said the Headmaster easily. “Sending a child into a battlefield is a grim prospect. One I could not encourage as an educator of youths. However, we did find a most peculiar rune branded into the boy’s hand when Mrs. Valliere made him a familiar.”

“Peculiar how?” Henrietta asked. It was common knowledge that the runes primarily served as a proof that a creature was a familiar. It wasn’t unheard of for runes to provide the familiar special abilities, but even those were usually mundane, like giving black cats the ability to speak.

Osmond leaned forward over his desk as he delivered the news.

“That boy has the mark of the Gandalfr, The Left Hand of God. While he doesn’t know it, as far as we can tell, he has the potential to become the most dangerous person in Halkegenia. And it’s only a matter of time before our enemies realize this as well.”

* * *

The Familiar Exhibition was normally only attended by the mages of the Academy and a few family members of the students who would come to visit. However, with Princess Henrietta in attendance, a lot of local nobles with nothing better to do decided to come along as well. As a result, the seats were packed.

While the Princess had several eyes on her, the students on stage with their familiars did an excellent job holding the spotlight. Some performed simple tricks, others posed. Tabitha stood out as she rode Sylphid during the dragon’s impressive aerial maneuvers.

Soon, it would be Louise and Aang’s turn.

“Make sure to keep it from being too flashy.”

“I know.”

“And remember, we’re trying to wow the Princess.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Stick with only one element, and try not use too many high level spells.”

“Louise,” Aang complained, rolling his eyes. “We’ve been over this. I’ll only be using simple airbending.”

“Wind magic.”

“Yeah, that too,” Aang said reflexively. “Just relax and watch as first place falls into our laps!”

“Next up, we have Louise de la Valliere and her familiar, Aang of the Air Nomads!” Colbert announced from the stage.

Louise and Aang ascended the stairs together, much to the confusion of some of the less-informed members of the audience. Clearly, the word of Louise summoning a human boy as a familiar hadn’t reached the ears of some of the guests.

The reaction didn’t faze Aang in the slightest. He had an entire lifetime of experience in standing out. “Hi!” Aang greeted the crowd with a bright smile on his face. “My name’s Aang, and I’m going to show you a few tricks!”

Aang raised his staff and rolled it in a curved figure eight around his body. The audience was confused at first, but then a breeze slowly picked up. Leaves, conveniently harvested from the outside forest and placed at the sides of the stage, were picked up and followed the flow of the wind. The audience gasped in awe at the simple but elegant display of wind control.

Then Aang raised his staff high above his head and rotated it. The wind picked up the leaves and sent them into the sky in a spiral. To finish the act, Aang brought his staff down on the ground. The leaves fell freely over the stage in a light shower of fluttering foliage. He nodded to Louise, and the two bowed to the audience.

It was a simple performance, but the audience clearly loved it as they gave their applause. Aang would normally put more acrobatics, elements, or even his air scooter if he could, but simple was sometimes best. Especially since he was trying to not reveal his bending prowess to a large crowd. That was part of the reason why he always used his staff for his bending nowadays. It helped him blend in and look like a normal, albeit talented, mage.

Without warning, a loud boom resounded through the air, and the ground trembled.

Panic immediately ensued as everyone started to rather run or try to identify the source. Aang forwent his natural instinct to retreat and instead tapped into his seismic sense. He dug his heels into the ground, and _felt_.

The disturbance wasn’t nearby, but there was good reason why everyone could feel it. A tower was being assaulted by a large, moving mass of earth. Aang’s first guess was that it was a golem, but it was entirely different from the ones Guiche used. Aside from its monstrous height, the golem had the consistency of clay, unlike Guiche’s Valkyries, which were metallic.

“Something is attacking one of the towers,” Aang informed Louise. “A giant golem, I think.”

“A golem?” Louise echoed in surprise. “Here? How do you know?”

“I can sense it through the earth with my seismic sense,” Aang replied. “It’s an earth bending technique that—never mind, what should we do?”

Louise looked around at the growing panic as another boom thundered through the air. “The teachers are busy taking care of keeping people calm,” she said. “We can’t let an intruder go through unimpeded but…” She looked at Aang hesitatingly. If she was on her own, she would have rushed the golem immediately. However, Aang’s presence changed things. She couldn’t endanger him for the sake of her own pride.

Aang could recognize the expression on Louise’s face. She was viewing him as a child that needed to be sheltered. Normally, he was fine with that, but he couldn’t afford to sit on the sidelines at a time like this. If someone was attacking the academy, then people could get hurt. What kind of Avatar would he be if he stayed safe while others were in danger?

“I’ll try to slow the golem down!” he said as he ran towards where he had sensed the attack.

“Don’t!” Louise called out after him. “You could get hurt!”

Aang turned his head to give Louise a reassuring smile. “A golem is just a mountain of earth, which means I can bend it!” he shouted back. “Be back in a bit. Bring some teachers with you!” While Aang felt confident in his ability to handle a golem, he wasn’t sure how to handle whoever else might be there. He hadn’t felt anyone on the ground around the golem, but that didn’t guarantee that it was alone.

Louise said something else, but it was lost in a burst of wind as Aang leapt up into the air and spread out the winds of his glider. After he had gained enough height, he could see the head of the golem peeking over one of the connecter walls of the academy. The only other person in sight was someone who wore a hooded cloak and was standing on the golem’s shoulder.

“One person, one golem, nothing to it,” Aang assured himself as he zoomed in closer. He angled his glider to fly towards the hooded figure’s exposed back. “If the person is controlling the golem, then if I knock out the puppeteer, the golem stops moving. Easy as gliding.”

Once Aang had soared close enough, he collapsed his glider and dove feet-first at the intruder’s exposed back. Air pressure began to build at his feet as he kicked his legs forward in an attempt to stun the person with a well-placed air blast. At the last second, the hooded person jumped to the side and turned to face Aang in one swift motion.

Aang landed on the golem’s shoulder, his staff now held in both hands. “How did you see me coming?” he asked in surprise.

“Your shadow was an obvious tell,” the intruder replied. Aang couldn’t tell if it was a guy or a girl underneath the hood. The voice didn’t make it obvious, and the cloak was baggy enough to conceal any curvature in the person’s body. All Aang could tell was that the person was slim, had strands of green hair peeking from the sides of the hood, and their lips were pursed in a thin smile.

“I should have watched out for that,” Aang muttered under his breath before asking, “Why are you breaking into the school?” With his surprise attack thwarted, he would need to be careful fighting this person. He wanted to limit the destruction to the school, so dodging and counterattacking wasn’t an ideal option. It was safer to stall the intruder long enough for the teachers to arrive.

“You don’t know who I am?”

“No…?” Aang replied in confusion. “Should I?”

“Tch. I’m Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth, a renowned thief known across all of Halkegenia!” the hooded person declared. “Your vault has something I want, so I’ll be taking it off your hands.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Aang declared as he raised his staff towards Fouquet.

The thief smirked and raised his—her?—wand. “We shall see.”

The two combatants stood still, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then a new voice called out, “AANG!”

Aang turned, recognizing Louise’s voice. As he was distracted by the sight of Louise running towards the golem with her wand drawn out, Fouquet flicked his/her/their wand. Aang felt the shift of the earth underneath him and jumped away just in time to avoid a pair of hands that sprouted from the golem’s shoulder and attempted to grab his ankles. He quickly formed an air scooter underneath himself to keep his limbs out of direct contact with the golem’s body.

“That’s seriously creepy!” Aang exclaimed as more hands began to sprout on the golem’s shoulder.

“Get away from him! That’s a triangle class golem!” Louise called out to Aang urgently.

From what Aang had learned from sitting in on Louise’s classes, the earthbending he used during Guiche’s duel was comparable to line class earth magic. While Aang wasn’t putting his full effort that time, triangle class magic was twice as taxing as line class magic, which put Aang’s own abilities barely in triangle class. That meant that Fouquet would most likely win in a battle of pure earth prowess.

If brute force wouldn’t work, then Aang had plenty of other options.

Aang grinded his air scooter into the clay of the golem, sending particles of dirt scattering to the wind. Then he swung his staff and sent the dirt particles at Fouquet. The mage waved his wand in attempt to use earth magic to stop the attack. However, the particles had little mass to them, whereas there was a lot of wind helping them along. The wind also tugged at Fouquet’s hood and threatened to carry the dirt into his eyes and mouth, forcing the thief to keep his face shielded. With Fouquet blocking his own vision with one arm, Aang was free to throw a more powerful gust of wind to send the thief flying off the golem.

Fouquet’s combat instincts were top notch. As the thief fell, the golem reached out to catch its creator in the palm of its hand. Then Fouquet had the golem use its free hand to swing at Aang. The boy could easily dodge the clumsy attack, but he had to be wary of the tentacle-like appendages that kept sprouting from the golem’s body.

“Stay still!”

“No thanks!”

Fouquet gritted his teeth. Breaking into the vault would take time, and every second wasted on this child was a second that the teachers had to recover and investigate. He had to get rid of the airbender quickly. The mage pointed his wand at the ground and summoning a smaller clay golem, roughly the size of a person.

“No matter how many golems you have, you can’t catch me,” Aang said confidently. “Surrender!”

Aang spoke truly. Between his seismic sense and natural agility, he barely needed any bending to keep himself safe from Fouquet’s entrapments. The thief recognized this was well, however…

“I don’t need to catch you,” Fouquet declared. Right on cue, the miniature golem rushed straight towards the nearest person not fighting on top of the larger golem.

“Louise!” Aang shouted. He dove off the large golem to dive bomb its smaller brethren. He landed like a missile, both feet impacting the golem’s torso and blowing it to pieces, leaving both Louise and Fouquet in shock.

“That’s not earth magic,” Fouquet muttered under her breath.

“How did you do that?” Louise asked incredulously.

Aang turned around so he stood facing Fouquet’s large golem with Louise safely behind him. “Later! You need to get out of here!” Aang called out as he raised his staff towards Fouquet.

“I can’t let you get hurt!” Louise insisted.

“I’m fine!” Aang assured her. “This golem is nothing. But I can’t fight it and protect you!”

“You shouldn’t be fighting it at all!”

“Then who will?”

“The teachers!”

“They aren’t here yet!”

“That doesn’t mean you have to get involved!”

“I couldn’t stand around and do nothing!”

Fouquet watched the two children argue back and forth, completely forgetting about their current opponent. Seizing the advantage of the moment, the thief chanted, “Earth Prison.”

Aang felt the sudden shift of the earth. But instead of dodging, he ran to save Louise. Unfortunately, he forgot how weak his child body was. While he attempted to pick up Louise with one arm and jump away, he barely managed to lift himself off the ground before the earth rose up and encased both him and Louise.

“Good,” said Fouquet. “Stay there until I’m—” The thief didn’t have time to finish as Aang threw his arms apart, shattering the rock around them. “How?!” Fouquet exclaimed. “You don’t even have your staff!”

Aang’s staff was indeed lying on the ground, where he had dropped it in his hasty attempt to save Louise. “Oops.”

Fouquet wasn’t sure what sort of mage Aang was, but given his ability to break a line class earth spell with his bare hands, she didn’t want to take any other chances. “Smoother them!” she commanded her massive golem.

The golem reached out towards the two. Aang summed a gust of wind to pull his staff towards him. Grabbing it with both hands, he brought the staff down on the golem’s outstretched hand. A large crack split both his ears and the golem’s hand, but then the golem’s hand reformed around Aang’s staff.

“Eh?” Aang uttered as he tried to use his earthbending to smash the golem into rubble. He tried pulling his staff. He tried kicking the golem. He tried punching the golem. However, it was all for naught. Every strike damaged the golem, Aang could feel that much through his seismic sense, but the damage was being repaired faster than Aang could dish it out. “Why isn’t this working?” he wondered aloud. “I should be stronger than this. Toph would bury me if she saw me floundering like this.”

The distracting thought made Aang forget about the golem’s other hand for just a second. Louise’s scream brought him back into reality. His eyes widened as he saw the golem swing at the mage, who was trembling as she struggled to raise her wand.

The golem’s arm was moving fast, and Aang wasn’t sure if he would be able to stop it in time. However, doubt did not stop the airbender from trying his best. “Louise!” he screamed as he dashed towards her.

The golem was too close. Even if Aang reached them at that point, he was moving too fast for him to push Louise out of the way without hurting her. And if he ran into the golem, he stood almost no chance of stopping the force of that mass before it would send him crashing into Louise.

Either way, Louise would get hurt.

All because Aang let himself get distracted for one measly second.

It was unfair.

Aang screamed as he saw the world move in slow motion.

A pillar of blinding white light rose into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aang learns more about the world, enjoys some festivities, and runs into trouble. Typical Tuesday for the Avatar.
> 
> As for how Aang has the Avatar state when he's disconnected from Raava, I'll let you theorize that for a bit. Everything that happens has a reasoning, but this story focuses on the comedy/slice-of-life aspects, so the lore doesn't always get explored right away. I also find it fun to see what people come up with.
> 
> If you want to support me monetarily, I have a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/rainestar. If you want to give your thoughts and feedback, leave a comment! Remember, comments are food for a writer's soul!


	7. A Thief and an Avatar

The pillar of light that erupted from the Tristan Royal Academy could be seen for miles across the country. Some people looked at it as a sign of the Founder's blessing on Tristan. Others whispered that it was a signal of impending judgement on the corrupt nobility.

Fouquet, who had been momentarily blinded by the event, blinked repeatedly as her eyes slowly recovered. "What in Halkegenia was that?" she muttered.

The pillar lasted only a second or two. When it died down, Aang's body was revealed to be floating in the air over Louise. The monk's eyes and arrow tattoos were alight with white energy. Rocks spun in twin orbits around his body as he hovered in a sphere of turbulent wind. While Fouquet couldn't Aang's eyes behind the light that shone from them, she could feel the fury radiating from his tense expression. She also realized that Aang was hovering when the golem's hand had once been, and her golem's arm was now ended at the elbow.

It was at this moment that Fouquet knew, she messed up.

Aang wordlessly flew towards the golem. Fouquet tried to intercept him with the remains of the golem's broken arm, but a single punch from the boy shattered the limb to rubble. The golem reacted by trying to swing its other arm, but Aang caught the attack with one hand. His fingers sunk into the hardened clay as easily as if it was fresh mud. Almost casually, he ripped the golem's arm off and threw the limb to the other end of the courtyard.

"Earth Spike!" Fouquet chanted as she pointed her wand at the ground. A sharp rupture of the earth rose towards Aang, who landed on it with his bare feet, crushing the sharp point into a small platform.

Fouquet clucked her tongue. With Aang's elevation, very few of her spells would be useful. And given that he somehow had the ability to casually crush her best spells with his bare hands and feet, she didn't like her odds one bit.

It was time for a tactical retreat. Fouquet quickly reformed one of the golem's arms and had her construct swing at Aang. The boy once again reached out his hand to catch the attack, but this time, instead of attempting to crush him, Fouquet transmuted the arm to surround him and obscure his vision. Fouquet then made a bridge of earth across her golem's back so she could jump to the academy's outer wall.

Not even a second after she jumped did the prison around Aang explode as he flew in pursuit of her. The golem hadn't had time to repair its limbs completely, but it still tried to swat Aang. In response, Aang slammed his open palms against the golem's half-formed arm, shattering the entire limb once again. The rocks orbiting around Aang shot forward peppered the golem's legs, causing it to stumble, before a massive blade of wind cleaved the golem's torso in two.

Fouquet stared in horror at the remains of her golem. What this kid was doing should have been impossible. He wasn't using Halkegenian magic, and she was pretty sure he wasn't using Elf magic either. He was a complete anomaly, and way out of her league. She forced herself to her feet and started to run across the wall, determined to reach the other side and escape to safety. However, just as she reached the edge of the wall, she found herself with cold feet. She was frozen solid in mid-step, and a glance at her feet quickly showed her why.

"Ice magic?!" she exclaimed as she struggled in vain against the ice that reached almost to her knees. "How is he using this much magic without even a chant or wand?"

Growing desperate, she pointed her wand at the stone under her feet. "Transmute!" Unfortunately for her, the reinforcement magic on the walls rendered all of her attempts for naught. Muttering a curse under her breath, Fouquet glanced back at Aang. Her heart began to race as the boy started floating towards her. "N-no! Stay away!"

Aang's face was ominously devoid of emotion as he continued slowly advancing.

Fouquet pointed her wand at him and cast, "Gust!" It was a futile effort. The dot class wind spell dissipated against Aang's personal barrier to no effect. Fouquet hadn't expected it to work, but she couldn't help but try something. With the walls being made of untransmutable rock, basic spells of other elements were all she had to work with.

"Gust!" she cast again. "Fireball! Water Spout!"

Just like her first attempt, the elements failed to pierce the barrier surrounding Aang. In response, Aang flicked his hand, and a strong wind sucked the wand from Fouquet's grip and sent it tumbling into the courtyard below.

The thief tried to remain calm. After all, Aang was supposed to be a pacifist. He wouldn't seriously hurt her, right? "I surrender," she said, holding her hands up. "I'm disarmed, I won't resist. Just let me out of this ice and I'll turn myself in." Sure, she was lying about that last part, but she could only hope he was naïve to believe her.

Instead of responding, Aang continued to float closer. His feet dangled inches from the ground as he reached out a hand towards her.

Something deep within Fouquet's soul made her tremble. The outstretched hand wasn't an offer of help.

It was judgement.

"No…" Fouquet whispered as Aang came closer.

"No…" she repeated, pailing as Aang stopped in front of her.

"No!" she screamed in open panic as the hand came towards her forehead.

And then it all went black.

* * *

Aang blinked as the world gradually came back into focus.

"Did I just go into the Avatar State?" he asked himself. "That's weird. I shouldn't be able to do that anymore." It also felt different from the previous times he had entered that state. When he was younger, he had lost himself in the Avatar State completely, being unable to think and only acting on instinct. Later, he had learned to control the Avatar State properly, so he could draw on the power and experience of his prior reincarnations without losing himself in the process. However, this time he felt like he had been having a very lucid dream. He had been consciously aware of his actions, but he hadn't felt like he was in proper control of his own body.

It was then that Aang noticed that he had a hand outstretch towards the passed-out woman in front of him. Her body was slumped over unnaturally due to the awkward position of her frozen legs. "I should probably get her out of there."

Aang melted the ice, making sure to pull all the moisture out of Fouquet's clothes as well, before hurling the orb of water into the forest outside the Academy. He then picked up the woman in his arms—straining under the weight—and jumped down to where Louise was.

"Aang!" Louise cried as she saw him land, unharmed and victorious.

Aang smiled back as he gently placed Fouquet on the grass. "I caught the thief!" he declared triumphantly.

"I don't care about the stupid thief!" Louise shouted as she grabbed him by the ear. "What in Brimir's name was that?!"

"Ow!" Aang realized that he hadn't prepared an explanation for the Avatar State. "Uh…" Aang wracked his brain for an easily believable answer, but drew a complete blank. The pain from Louise's pinching didn't help matters either. "Can we talk about it later?" he suggested.

"No, we're not talking about this later!" Louise's grip on his ear became tighter, threatening to rip it from his head. She pointedly ignored his painful protests as she shouted, "You were glowing! And floating! And what kind of magic was that?"

Thankfully, it was at that time that Colbert and some other teachers flew over to the scene. Louise reluctantly released Aang's ear, but gave him a look that promised that they would be continuing their conversation alter.

"What happened?" Colbert asked the two as he touched down on the ground. "And who is that?" He pointed at the unconscious cloaked figure Aang was standing over.

"This is the person who broke into the Academy and was trying to get into that tower over there," Aang replied, pointing at the Void Tower. "She said her name is Fouquet, and apparently she's supposed to be famous."

All of the teachers' faces paled. "Fouquet is a thief who has terrorized Halkegenia for years," Colbert explained for Aang's benefit. "No treasure was ever truly safe, as his—or rather, her—Transmutation magic was extremely powerful for a Triangle class mage. Even the most secure vaults were easily broken into, and every heist was marked by Fouquet's calling card. Few people have ever seen Fouquet in person, and most of them were been soundly defeated by Fouquet's signature Clay Golem."

Given the rubble lying around the courtyard, it was clear that golem had been soundly obliterated. It should have been impossible for a child to succeed where several talented adult mages had failed, but Colbert was quickly disregarding any preconceived notions about what Aang could or could not do.

The professor paused to wipe a bead of sweat from his head. "While I believe you should have left this for the teachers to handle, I must congratulate you on a job well done," he said. "Still, never do this again. This is a place of learning, we don't expect students to go challenging people who should be dealt with by the faculty."

"We understand," Louise said neutrally, giving Aang a level stare. "I'd imagine most students aren't strong enough to fight mages on par with our teachers."

Colbert did not seem to pick up on Louise's implications as he nodded in agreement. "Now, let us see the identity of Halkegenia's famous thief!" He threw off the thief's hood and gasped. "Miss Longueville!"

"Who?" Aang asked.

"Osmond's secretary since the start of this year," Louise answered. Her brow furred in contemplation. "That would mean she accepted the position with the intention of breaking into the Vault."

"I-I… can't believe she would do such a thing," Colbert stammered.

"The proof is pretty clear," said one of the other professors, a thin female water mage. "The remains of this golem match the description of Fouquet's, and there's no other reason why she would fight a student and her…" The professor's words trailed off as she tried to find the best term to describe Aang.

"Friend?" Aang offered.

"…Yes, let's go with that. Miss Valliere and her friend."

Colbert sighed, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "We'll bring Fouquet—if that is her true name—to Osmond and let him decide what to do with her. Miss Valliere, Mister Aang, thank you again for your assistance."

"Just doing my job," Aang replied. Seeing the confused expression on Colbert's face, Aang had to remind himself that he wasn't the Avatar tasked with bringing peace to the world. He explained, "I like helping people," to cover his tracks.

"We were merely doing our duties as concerned citizens," Louise said, far more formally.

While the teachers handled the securing and transporting of Fouquet and clearing the damage from the fight, Louise dragged Aang back to their room. Instead of scolding him, as Aang expected, she took her wand and practically slapped it into his hand.

"Cast Fireball," she ordered.

The command caught Aang off guard as he stared dumbly at the stick in his hand. "…what?"

"Use my wand, and cast the dot-class spell, _Fireball_ ," Louise said with exaggerated slowness and diction.

Aang smiled nervously as his fingers rolled over the wand. "I'm not really sure about this."

"Why is that?" Louise asked, a dark glint in her eye. "You had no problem using your staff to perform higher class magic. In fact, I believe you managed to shatter an entire golem's arm _without using a wand or chant at all_." The polite smile on Louise's face radiated an ominous aura. "So, tell me: what is the problem with casting a small, simple spell with my wand?"

Aang knew that he didn't have a justifiable excuse for it. And if he was being honest, he didn't really have a reason to lie. He held the wand out to Louise. "I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, but my bending isn't exactly magic," he admitted. "There's nothing I can do with your wand."

Louise's expression did not change as she stared at Aang expectantly.

"Um… sorry for keeping that a secret and it won't happen again?"

Louise continued staring, the polite smile plastered on her face.

"Are you mad?"

"Obviously, I'm furious," said Louise in a tone that was both perfectly level and chillingly cold at the same time. "But I also gave you a command, and I expect you to follow it. Cast Fireball."

"But I can't," Aang protested. "I can make a ball of fire," he made one in his empty hand for demonstration, "but I can't use magic like your classmates and teachers do."

"Cast. Fireball."

Seeing that Louise wasn't going to give up, Aang relented. Holding the wand in one hand like he had seen Fouquet use hers, he chanted, "Fireball."

As Aang expected, nothing happened.

Despite the failure, Louise only looked contemplative. "A mage casts spells by channeling their Willpower into a focus, which allows them to properly harness their magic," Louise lectured. "Without sufficient willpower, a spell cannot be created or maintained. Without a focus, a mage's willpower cannot properly be channeled into a spell. Chants are used in tandem with a focus to help a mage hold a mental picture of the spell they are casting, increasing the chance of a spell's success." Louise's pink eyes bored into Aang's grey ones. "That is how magic works. Every mage knows this. So tell me, how do you use magic?"

Aang sighed. He moved to sit on the side of the bed. "You might want to sit down for this," he advised.

Surprisingly, Louise did take his suggestion, and waited on him expectantly.

Aang took a deep breath before starting his explanation. "First of all, where I come from, people can only use one element. I know I'm an exception," he intercepted Louise as she opened her mouth. "Generally, though, anyone who can bend an element only has access to one. Water, Earth, Fire, or Air. Aside from very specific exceptions, bending elements is hereditary, much like having magic is here."

Seeing Louise nod in understanding, Aang continued, "Bending uses Chi, the natural energy in our bodies, as a source of fuel. It's not too different from how you use willpower to fuel your magic. But while mages need a focus, benders use the different parts of their body to channel their internal energy."

"But you used a staff for your magic earlier," Louise pointed out.

"I can use my glider as an extension of my body, but there's no chi that flows through it. Does that make sense?"

"No," Louise stated bluntly. "Magic is magic. You can't channel willpower through your body. If that was possible, we would have done it already."

"But I've done it. Multiple times." Aang twirled his finger, summoning a light breeze that blew on Louise's face and fanned out her long, pink hair. "See? I'm doing it right now."

Despite the evidence before her, Louise still looked conflicted. "But the Founder didn't set up magic to work this way. In the six thousand years of Halkegenia's history, no one has done magic in the way you described." The argument sounded weak even to her own ears. She had learned that the Founder's magic and the church's teachings were absolute, but the person comfortably sitting next to her was physical proof of the contrary.

"I'm using bending, not magic," Aang corrected. "And it's been passed down in my people for about ten thousand years."

Louise stiffened. "Ten thousand years?" she echoed.

"Yup. All the way back when Avatar Wan merged with the Spirit Raava, and the lion-turtles allowed the people who lived on them to fully become benders."

"…what?"

"Long story. To make it short, people were given the elements and learned how to use them from creatures or the forces of nature. Wan was an Avatar, like me. More specifically, he was the first Avatar."

"So you're his descendant?"

Aang was about to deny it, but then paused. He may not have been Wan's biological descendant, since the first Avatar had no children in his lifetime, but reincarnation did count for something. "More of a spiritual descendent, but yeah, I am," he responded.

"I see," Louise said mutedly. "I suppose that makes you a very important person then?"

"Well… not anymore," Aang admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "There's a new Avatar who took my place already. My time in public is over, thank the spirits. I'm just an ordinary person right now."

"Of course." Louise's voice did not show any signs of relief. On the contrary, she was stiffer than ever. "That is all the questions I have. If you'll excuse me, I need some time to think."

"Oh, sure," said Aang as he got off the bed. "I'll just leave you to that." He slid out of the room and closed the door. Only when he was down the hall did he let out a sigh of relief.

Aang didn't like keeping secrets from Louise. He hoped that one day he could tell her about everything that had happened in his life. However, given how shell-shocked she had been by what little he shared, he did not think that now was a good time to reveal how old he was or how different his world was compared to hers.

At least she was taking the news well.

* * *

"He's a _what_?" Professor Colbert asked incredulously.

"An Avatar, or former one, at least. A legendary prodigy that is a descendant of his country's Founder. If he was native to Halkegenia, that would make him—"

"Royalty," Osmond interrupted as he stroked his beard. "I thank you for bringing this to our attention. This certainly makes things interesting."

" _Interesting_?" Colbert echoed. "The boy Louise summoned is tantamount to royalty, one of the most powerful mages of all time, and suffering the loss of everyone he knew and cared about, and you think this is _interesting_?"

"Don't make me sound so callous," Osmond said gruffly. "This is a situation we've never had before. There are too many parts to call this mess good or bad, so interesting the safest word I can think of."

"This is most certainly bad," Colbert insisted. "The boy's condition aside, he comes from a continent where magic itself is different. If what he says is true, then his magic is older than ours. Not to mention, he's probably the strongest mage in his country. With how important he is, I doubt they would let him go that easily."

"Assuming they know where he is at all," Osmond pointed out. "As far as we know, everyone who would be looking for him is rather dead or assumes him to be dead. I know the topic is morbid but bear with me. Given how it took Miss Valliere's spell for the boy to arrive here, I doubt any of his countrymen would also find themselves in Halkegenia, let alone Tristan."

Louise politely cleared her throat. "Pardon my interruption," she said with proper decorum. "While I'm pleased that we should be able to avoid an international incident, what should I do about the _royal child living in my room_?"

The two men stared at Louise, who quickly recovered from her outburst and schooled her expression into one of patient neutrality.

"That's right, we never did assign a room to him," Osmond said contemplatively.

Colbert looked at the two in surprise. "This is only coming up now? I thought you had arranged a separate room when you first learned he was a mage."

Louise flushed and stammered, "W-well there was a lot of th-things on my mind, and, you see, I wasn't really—"

"Oh, that's right," Osmond exclaimed, slapping his forehead dramatically. "You did send in the paperwork for that. I must have lost it somewhere. No matter, I'll write it up myself and get him a room today."

"I did? You will?" Louise caught the wink Osmond gave her a wink as he tilted his head towards Colbert. "I mean, yes, thank you, Headmaster Osmond. If you'll excuse me." Louise practically fled the room, not looking Professor Colbert in the eye.

"That was strange," the bespectacled man commented.

"The girl has a lot on her mind, let her be," said Osmond dismissively. "Besides, we have a lot we have to deal with."

"A Gandalfr who's a foreign royal mage prodigy with magic that was not gifted by the Founder," Colbert said with a sigh. "The more we learn about him, the more dangerous he appears. And yet, he's such an innocent child. I can't see him harming a fly. I hear he's even a vegetarian."

"Peaceful, he is. But according to Miss Longueville—ahem—Fouquet, he is a talented fighter," said Osmond. "She confessed to everything easily enough. Infiltrating the academy, attempting to steal from the Void Tower, breaking our hearts, attacking our students—"

"Wait, what was that last part?"

"She attacked our students."

"No, no. Before that."

"She attempted to steal from the Void Tower."

"No, not that either." Colbert shook his head. "Never mind, please continue."

Osmond cleared his throat. "She didn't even bother lying, but when asked about the details of her fight with Mister Aang, she became largely incoherent. She threw around words like 'monster' and 'inhuman' and 'terrifying', but we haven't been able to get the specifics."

"That sounds like the response of someone who's been traumatized," said Colbert knowingly. "But that doesn't add up. She's uninjured; I checked the report."

"Yes," Osmond agreed. "Aang managed to destroy Fouquet's signature golem, capture her, and strike fear into her heart without injuring her once. That speaks to an incredible amount of skill and power. If this is his strength as a child, then imagine what he could become in the next few years."

Both men were visibly sweating. To be able to defeat an accomplished triangle class mage while on the cusp of adolescence was no small feat. If Aang continued to grow and learned to make full use of his magic and those runes…

"We need to do our best to keep him in Tristan," Osmond said decisively. "Not just for our sake, but for his as well. Mad King Joseph would use him as a weapon of war, the same goes for the Germanian Emperor. Albion is a mess, and who knows what's going on in Romania!"

"We must protect him at all costs," Colbert agreed. "I just pray our best will be enough."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, poor Fouquet, you were outclassed from the very beginning. Aang's dangerous, but Aang when he's protecting someone? That's a whole 'nother beast.
> 
> And of course, more misunderstandings abound. Except, they're not quite wrong. Just... out of context.

**Author's Note:**

> Louise Summons is a series where I have Louise summon different familiars to make better use of the characters and world that the author of Familiar of Zero so shallowly utilized. This time, we have our favorite bald monk Avatar, Aang. He has the advantage in this world of being considered a mage. However, with a corroded soul in his young body, not everything will be smooth sailing.  
> Follow if you want to see more. And remember, comments are food for a writer's soul!


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